Dr. Svante Pääbo, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2022, while engaged in research deciphering the genetic information of extinct Neanderthals and tackling discoveries related to human origins and evolution, Dr. Pääbo has visited SAIKOUZENJI continuously for over twenty years. Dr. Pääbo and the priest are long-time friends, and a television program featuring their friendship was also produced. I assumed meeting such a renowned priest would be difficult, but in the summer of 2023, I resolved, “I want to see SAIKOUZENJI at least once,” and made a special request to Master Kenjiro Naka for an introduction. Learning SAIKOUZENJI was near my husband's family home, I felt both surprise and a sense of fate. Guided by my car navigation system, I drove along mountain roads for some time. Then, the wooden sign engraved with “SAIKOUZENJI” appeared. Bamboo groves and cypress trees made it feel like I'd wandered into another world where time flowed slowly. Welcoming me was the gentle, warm smile of the priest, dressed in black robes. While enjoying delicious coffee brewed by the priest himself, we talked about many things. As lunchtime approached, the priest invited me to join him for lunch, and we moved to a restaurant serving tofu dishes suitable for a vegan priest. There, he made “a request” to me, someone he had just met that day. It was from the priest, who was planning to publish a book in interview format: “If it's alright with you, Jakusui-san, could I ask you to be the interviewer and write the text?” Wouldn't one normally hesitate to ask such a thing of someone they've just met?　But driven by pure curiosity about the priest, I accepted. Within three hours of meeting this mysterious priest, that ‘deal’ was sealed. Over the next two days, I listened, completely absorbed, with the priest's life story, studded with miracles. “You're quite a famous person (yu mei jin in Japanese), aren't you?” I remarked in admiration. “Yes,” he replied. "I want to be a ‘Yu Mei Jin’. But not a ‘famous person’ with a name, I want to be a ‘Gentle-Meditation-Person’ (yu mei jin in Japanese) who practices gentle meditation." His voice was soft, yet it conveyed an indescribable warmth and strength. As I grew a little closer to the monk, his humorous side gradually came to the surface. When I asked, “Where is your sleeping quarters, Reverend?” he answered with a serious expression, “I sleep at the roots of the pine trees on the back mountain.” “You're joking, right!?” I widened my eyes and asked again. “It's not a joke (jodan), I am Danjo.” “Huh?” After five seconds of silence, “Ha ha ha...” We both burst out laughing uncontrollably. Through the interview, I was deeply moved by the priest's character and faith. Vowing to begin my own life's exploration, I compiled the stories I heard into a book, which was published as ‘Danjo’. The story of the priest's time as head priest of SAIKOUZENJI temple, that is the subject of ‘Danjo II’. Please look forward to it.