Fresno Betsuin Buddhist Temple

Rev. Kaz Nakata

Rev. Kaz Nakata, M.A., M.B.A., has served as a Kaikyoshi minister at Fresno Betsuin Buddhist Temple since August 2019, overseeing Kingsburg Buddhist Church. Rev. Nakata began his ministerial journey at Myoganji Temple in Hyogo, Japan, in 2000, receiving both Tokudo Ordination and Kyoshi Certification in 2001. He completed the Kaikyoshi Overseas Minister Training Program at Kyoto Hongwanji International Department in August 2001. In the late 1990s, he pursued advanced study in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism under esteemed mentors Dr. Risho Ohta Kangaku, Dr. Ryusei Takeda, and Prof. Naoki Nabeshima at Ryukoku University, Kyoto.

In the United States, Rev. Nakata honed his English language skills at Sacramento City College under Prof. Barbara Toupadakis, and completed clinical pastoral training in chaplaincy and crisis intervention at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He
received further chaplaincy training through FEMA, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and Joint Force Headquarters. In June 2014, he earned his M.B.A. with a perfect 4.0 GPA from Strayer University, Graduate School of Business, focusing on management strategies for religious institutions under the guidance of Prof. Melinda L. Swigart. In May 2016, he obtained a Master of Arts in Religious Studies with a concentration in Buddhist Studies at the University of the West, studying under Prof. Miroj Shakya, and developed proficiency in Sanskrit while conducting research on the Sukhāvatīvyūha (the Sanskrit Pure Land Sutra). In June 2016, he was admitted to the Ph.D. program in Buddhist Studies at the University of the West under Prof. Darui Long, where he continues his research on the Pure Land Sutras in Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Uighur. His additional academic interests include the Tanakh, the Holy Bible, the Quran, phenomenology, pragmatism, and analytical philosophy.

Rev. Nakata’s ministerial career in the U.S. includes service at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento, Ekoji Buddhist Temple, and Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple as a BCA Kaikyoshi minister. He has also been endorsed by the BCA to serve as a campus chaplain at George Mason University, a community chaplain for the Fairfax County Department of Emergency Management, and as an interim hospital chaplain at Inova Hospital.

In 2009, at the request of Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Rev. Nakata delivered a Buddhist perspective at the Interfaith Hearing on Universal Healthcare at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington D.C., representing the Buddhist community. In June 2014, he was invited as a special panelist to the Thai Buddhist Monk Conference in Boston, attended by His Royal Highness King Bhumibol of Thailand.
In April 2025, as an alternate representative of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, the supreme leader of Tibetan Buddhism, Rev. Nakata was invited by the Gobing Charitable Trust to deliver a speech at Fiere di Parma in Parma, Italy. The event drew a live audience of 3,500 and was broadcast globally, reaching over 100,000 viewers.

In recognition of his service, Rev. Nakata was nominated to serve as the first Buddhist chaplain at the National Institutes of Health in 2012. He currently serves with distinction on the advisory council of the International Buddhist Association of America (IBAA) and periodically delivers Dharma talks in Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, sponsored by the International Buddhist Committee of Washington, D.C. (IBC).