【Protecting regional treasures III】 Local residents strive to preserve precious cultural properties (Sui-jinja, Akita Pref.)

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’s face and 40 arms
stand out in bold relief

National Treasure
Mirror with engraved images of the Thousand-armed Kannon and other figures of Sui-jinja shrine
(Akita Prefecture)

The mirror with engraved images of the Thousand-armed Kannon and other figures housed at the Sui-jinja shrine in the Toyokawa district of Daisen, Akita Pref., has been protected and passed down in the area since a villager dug it up by chance during the Edo period. The mirror, among mirrors of the same kind made during the Heian period, is uniquely sophisticated and the only designated national treasure in the prefecture.

The mirror is the object of worship housed in the Sui-jinja. Rather small in size, it is about 14 centimeters in diameter and six millimeters thick. A thousand-armed Kannon standing on a lotus pedestal is engraved at the center of a mirror made of cupro-nickel. It is hard to tell what is engraved on the mirror when it rests in the zushi shrine. However, when a light is cast, the plump face and 40 arms of the Kannon stand out in bold relief.

The mirror was found in 1677 during the Edo period in the Toyo-oka district of Daisen when an irrigation channel was being excavated. Under orders from the lord of the domain to treat the object as the god of the weir, villagers built a temple. It was initially called the Mirror Kannon or by some other name, but when the edict to separate Shinto and Buddhism was issued in the early Meiji era, they gave up on the Buddhist name and founded the Sui-jinja. The object was registered as a sacred mirror.

The 80 or so households of the area constitute the parishioners of Sui-jinja. A group of 12 custodians selected from among the residents (four-year term) administer the annual events and other matters. The mirror is kept in a repository of the inner sanctuary, but can be viewed once a year on Aug. 17 when the annual festival is held.

♪The mirror we deem our god
Shines eternally in a glorious village♪

The mirror is sung about in a local elementary school anthem. Even the school badge is made in the shape of a mirror, making it the symbol of the area. An event in which custodians of the shrine talk about the preciousness of the mirror in front of third and fourth graders of the school is held on a regular basis.

Locals fear that protecting the mirror can become difficult in the future due to depopulation. Parishioners are hoping for the eventual return of their younger ones to take over their efforts.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources)