Rainbow Rights and Robes

Set to speak at the Club this month, Buddhist monk Kodo Nishimura talks diversity and empowerment.

Kodo Nishimura might wear robes and sport a shaven head, but he is no ordinary Buddhist monk.

He is just as comfortable transforming faces as an accomplished makeup artist or speaking as a LGBTQ+ activist as he is chanting sutras at his family’s temple in Tokyo.

“I wanted to break the stereotypical understanding of Buddhist monks,” says Nishimura. “My mother, for example, is a mother, works in the temple and is a pianist. We are not just one identity. We can be flexible and be anything. That’s why I thought these identities can be mine.”

While Nishimura is keen to share his broadminded philosophy, this wasn’t always the case. In his book, This Monk Wears Heels: Be Who You Are, published earlier this year, Nishimura, 33, chronicles his journey from teenage self-doubt and self-loathing to spreading a message of tolerance and acceptance.

“When I was younger, I was frustrated because people didn’t see me for who I was, nor did they perceive my sexuality,” he says. “But as I grew up, I realized I have experience and teachings I can use to share happiness.”

Nishimura’s transformation began in 2007 when he moved to the United States to study at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City. Welcomed by the LGBTQ+ community and people who encouraged him to embrace who he was, Nishimura began to express himself through makeup, jewelry and heels.

When he landed an internship as an assistant makeup artist for the Miss Universe pageant, he dedicated himself to developing his skills and style, spending hours perfecting techniques. After graduation, his talent also earned him work with the Miss USA pageant and New York Fashion Week.

But something was missing. Nishimura realized that a core part of his identity was grounded in Buddhism, a religion to which 22 generations of his family had devoted themselves. Six years after leaving Japan, he returned to begin two years of training to become a monk—like his parents—in the Pure Land school of Buddhism.

As Nishimura immersed himself in scriptures and sutras, he discovered that beneath the teachings and strict practices was a tradition of acceptance that he hadn’t anticipated.

“Buddhism teaches that everyone can be equally liberated,” he says. “I learned there is a place for me and who I am.”

Nishimura has also found the Buddhist community welcoming of his advocacy. He has spoken at several Buddhist symposiums, and a sticker he designed of two hands pressed together in prayer on a rainbow background is widely used as a symbol of LGBTQ+ awareness.

“It has been very validating,” says Nishimura, who took his story global when he made a guest appearance on the hit show “Queer Eye: We’re in Japan!” in 2019.

While he concedes that Japanese society remains largely conservative, he believes that talking about LGBTQ+ issues can help change people’s attitudes.

“Buddhism says we are all valuable,” he says. “The only difference between us is our names. In the end, we are just human beings.”

TAC Talk: Kodo Nishimura
June 22 | 7–8pm

Words: Joan Bailey
Top image of Kodo Nishimura: Munemasa Takahashi