To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Buddhist monks dust off a statue at Toshodaiji temple in Nara on Wednesday for the annual ominugui cleaning ceremony ahead of the New Year. In the morning, chief priest Genko Okamoto and other monks read sutras in front of the temple’s statues, some of which are national treasures. Monks and temple staff then cleaned the statues using dusters made from bamboo canes with shredded washi Japanese paper attached to one end. “I hope that next year the pandemic ends and bustle returns to the temple,” said Okamoto, who became the chief priest in spring.
