Japanese Monks Wipe Dust from Buddha Statues; Ritual Known as Ominugui is Part of New Year’s Preparations

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:21 JST, December 30, 2025

NARA — Ahead of the New Year, the annual ritual of Ominugui, in which dust is wiped off of Buddhist statues, was performed on Monday at Yakushiji Temple, a World Heritage site in Nara.

While the chanting of sutras by chief priest Kitatsu Ikoma and others echoed through the temple’s Kondo main hall, about 50 monks climbed ladders to carefully wipe clean every part of the Yakushi Triad, a set of statues which has been designated as a National Treasure, consisting of Yakushi Nyorai, the Healing Buddha, flanked by two attendants, the bodhisattvas Nikko and Gakko.

“This marks the 80th year since the end of the World War II, yet conflicts persist worldwide,” said Ikoma. “We pray for a world free from conflict.”