Our Lady of Nasu Trappist Monastery, Tochigi Prefecture, was founded by the sisters of Our Lady of Nishinomiya Monastery, Hyogo Prefecture, in 1954. In order to establish a place of contemplative prayer, the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists) received a part of the land transferred from the Imperial Household Agency to Father Flaujac of the Paris Mission Society. In Japan, Trappists from France had already founded two monasteries in Hokkaido: Our Lady of Phare Monastery, Tobetsu(for men)in 1896, and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery: Tenshien, Hakodate (for women)in 1898. The sisters of Tenshien founded the monastery in Nishinomiya in 1935 as well Our Lady of Imari Monastery, Saga Prefecture, in 1953. In 1980 the monks of Tobetsu founded a monastery in Hiji, Oita Prefecture. In 1981 the Trappists from Nishinomiya also established a monastery in Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture. That community became Our Lady of Ajimu Monastery, Oita Prefecture, in 2001. Thus in Japan there are seven communities of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, five for women (Tenshien, Nishinomiya, Imari, Nasu, and Ajimu) and two for men (Tobetsu and Oita).

Our life is a simple one, our monastic motto is “pray and work.” The day is interwoven with a blessed routine of the prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, lectio divina (sacred reading), labor, and seeking God in silence. The discipline of our life includes common work, as we strive for self-sufficiency through agricultural work and the production of cookies (“Galette”). Praying in the joy of the Holy Spirit and dedicating ourselves to the praise of God, we live together according to the Rule of Saint Benedict and the direction of an abbess.