Fri, Mar 7, 2025
In some areas of Japan, local residents take it into their own hands to protect the artistically and historically valuable Buddhist sculptures, craft and other cultural properties of their region. The Kannon-no-sato (Kannon village) in the Takatsuki district of Nagahama, Shiga Pref., so-called because not a small number of Kannon statues there are preserved by the local residents, is a case in point. However, the decreasing and aging of the population in these areas may make it difficult for the locals to continue their efforts in the future.
Kannon-no-sato Part 1:
Eleven-headed Kannon of Dogan-ji Kannon-do
(Shiga Prefecture)
The Kohoku region to the north of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture has been, since ancient times, a place where Buddhist culture flourished and many temples have established themselves. During the Sengoku (Warring States) period (15th-16th century), Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and other warlords brought wars to the region often setting the temples on fire. However, some Kannon (Avalokiteshvara; Buddhist deity of compassion) statues were protected by the locals and remain to this day.
The standing statue of the Eleven-headed Kannon of Dogan-ji Kannon-do (the Kannon hall of Kogen-ji temple) in the Takatsuki district of Nagahama, Shiga Pref., a designated national treasure of Japan, is one example. The statue, a masterpiece of Japanese Buddhist sculpture which was likely made during the early Heian period, is made from a single block of wood and stands at about 194 centimeters in height.
According to legend, the statue was made by priest Taicho under orders from Emperor Shomu (reign: 724-49) to ward off the epidemic and natural disasters. The temple, which flourished as Kogen-ji of the Tendai school, was burned down during the Battle of Anegawa (1570). However, local residents were able to protect the statue by burying it underground. A stone monument on the premises today tells where the statue was hidden.
The statue was designated as a special national treasure in 1897 and officially became a possession of Kogen-ji of the Jodo Shinshu school of Pure Land Buddhism. In 1953, the statue was designated as a national treasure under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, which was enacted after World War II. Since then, the local supporters’ association has been proactively engaged in the maintenance of the cultural property and the management of the Dogan-ji Kannon-do.
According to a staff member of the association, until the mid-1970s, the group had to collect about 1.5 kilograms of fresh rice from each of the villages of Takatsuki to cover the expenses needed to hold services at the Kannon-do once a month. However, things began to change in the late 70s after novelist Yasushi Inoue, essayist Masako Shirasu and some others introduced the Eleven-headed Kannon in their work. With the increase of visitors to the area, the association was able to run the Kannon-do on collected admission fees.
The repository standing next to the Kannon-do has been in use since 2005 to keep the Eleven-headed Kannon, the seated statue of Dainichi Nyorai (Mahavairocana), a designated important cultural property of Japan, and other precious cultural properties.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources)
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