At the age of 91, Bishop Jikyu Rose is still giving weekly sermons, counseling members, planning events and more at the Koganji Temple she founded about 45 years ago in Manoa Valley.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are,” said Rose. “I’m always learning, always looking forward to life.”
Born in Tokyo, she and her late husband, Lester Rose, a retired Navy captain, bought 2 acres of property in the mid-1970s, and by 1982 constructed the two-story temple on a serene, terraced slope off Oahu Avenue. Her temple is part of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, dedicated to Jizo Bodhisattva.