Not far from RIKEN, you can visit Heirinji Temple in Niiza City, Saitama Prefecture. This temple is the bodaiji (family temple) of Nobutsuna Matsudaira, a past lord of Kawagoe Domain and ancestor of RIKEN’s third president, Masatoshi Ōkōchi. Located on the temple’s grounds is the Ōkōchi family grave. Recently I visited the temple, and it got me thinking about these two men, their similar attitudes, and how they influenced Japanese society and RIKEN. Currently, RIKEN is a national research...