On June 9, Cochrane resident Patti Naaykens was at home when she heard a knock on her door. She opened the door and found a Japanese Buddhist monk standing on her stoop.
The monk wore robes and walking shoes, the top of his bald head was sunburned, and he carried with him a large canvas sheet that had a message painted on it in different colours. His name was Toyoshige Sekiguchi and he was looking for some water.
Sekiguchi, a Buddhist monk from the Japanese city of Saitama, was passing through Cochrane on his way to Banff where he was hoping to meet with the mayor, Corrie DiManno. He had arrived in Alberta days earlier when a flight brought him to Calgary, and his mission was one that he had undertaken many times before–to bring about a world free from the threat of nuclear disaster.
Last year's Group of Seven Summit was held in Borgo Egnazia, a resort in the southern Italian city of Fasano. Sekiguchi had walked from Rome to Fasano to highlight a cause that he had been advocating for many years, the cause of nuclear disarmament.
Sekiguchi met with the mayor of Fasano to propose an idea where in order for countries to participate in the Olympics, they should have to sign nuclear test ban treaties. Fasano’s mayor met with Sekiguchi and agreed with his non-nuclear sentiment, but ultimately nothing came of it. And so, with this year’s G7 Summit taking place in Kananaskis, Sekiguchi decided to try again.
Along the road to Banff, Sekiguchi passed through Cochrane on June 10. He met Naaykens who agreed to house Sekiguchi for a night before he started off again down Highway 1A where he would eventually get to Banff in time for the G7 Summit, which was held this week.
On June 10, Sekiguchi, finishing a long day of walking along the highway into Cochrane, was driven to the RancheHouse by Naaykens to get an audience with Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung. At the RancheHouse, Sekiguchi spoke with Genung about his mission and showed the mayor a handmade banner that he was carrying with him that detailed his stance on nuclear disarmament.
“Since 2009 I’ve been travelling to G7 and G20 Summits for this reason,” Sekiguchi told the Cochrane Eagle after meeting with Mayor Jeff Genung. “After last year's summit I went to Paris for the opening ceremonies [for the Summer Olympics], but I was not successful.”
On his phone Sekiguchi had copies of a letter he was planning to give to Banff’s mayor. It reads, “I kindly ask if you [Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno] can meet me in Banff, to recommend the joining of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty between June 14th and 17, 2025. On June 14, 2025 a military parade will be held in Washington. Looking at the situation of the world, Ukraine war and Gaza war, I think that abolishing nuclear weapons is an urgent necessity.”
Sekiguchi added that he was hoping to meet with more mayors who might agree to endorse his letter and petition for world leaders to agree to a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, which would ban nuclear test explosives for both civilian and military purposes.
Regardless of whether or not Sekiguchi’s mission was successful this year (as of publication it’s unknown if he scored an audience with Banff’s mayor) but he said he would continue to try to advocate for a nuclear test ban treaty in the future.
“I want to try to promote countries to join the treaty,” he said.
Sekiguchi blessed the RanchHouse and posed for a photo with Genung after meeting with him. Then he continued on his way to Banff.
