Thomas Kirchner, a native of Maryland, went to Japan for a junior-year-abroad program in 1969. In 1971 he entered Shofuku-ji monastery in Kobe as a lay monk and trained there for three years under Yamada Mumon. In 1974 he was ordained and given the name Shaku Yuho. He now serves as caretaker of the Tenryu-ji subtemple Rinsen-ji in Kyoto and works at the International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism at Hanazono University. He has master’s degrees in Buddhist studies from Otani University and in education from Temple University (Japan). In September 2003 he participated in the Ninth Spiritual Exchange Program of DIM/MID, spending 10 days at Camaldoli in Italy.