Pioneer Valley Zendo is a Soto Zen zendo established in 1976 in Charlemont, Massachusetts, United States, as a sister-temple to Antai-ji in Japan,[1] where Kosho Uchiyama was rōshi.
In 1974, Steve Yenik and Koshi Ichida arrived from Japan[2] and began raising funds to create a zendo in the forest hills near the Vermont border.[1] [2] Ichida was joined by Eishin Ikeda and Shohaku Okumura.[3] Reverend Issho Fujita was the resident teacher from 1987 until 2005.[2] Eishin Ikeda, who later led the Bean Town Sangha (founded by Eishin Ikeda and Michael Flessas) whose first meetings were held on the second floor of a book store in Arlington, Massachusetts, returned as the present resident priest in 2006.[2]