Koguriyama Mokujiki Kannon-do
Mokujiki Buddhas carved by Mokujiki Shonin are gathered here
Interviewee
Mr. Michiyuki Nirasawa
Administrator,Koguriyama MokujkiKannon-do Preservation Society
Returned to Koguriyama settlement 12 years ago. After being appointed administrator of the Preservation Society, he deepened his knowledge of Mokujiki Shonin and Kannon-do.
“The gentle smile of Mokujiki Buddhas has been watching over us”
Koguriyama Mokujiki Kannon-do, where Mokujki Buddhas created by Mokujki Shonin is enshrined, is a place community residents have loved to go since their childhood. We asked Mr. Michiyuki Nirasawa, the administrator.
– Do you have memories of Koguriyama Mokujiki Kannon-do?
Mr. Nirasawa
When I was a little boy, Kannon-do was the place to go play on rainy days. We didn’t know the value of the Mokujiki Buddhas, and touched and played with them.During summer vacation, we gathered at the Kannon-do and did our homework. At the time, cleaning the premises was the children’s duty. Now the settlements are in charge.
– Tell us the origin of the Kannon-do.
Mr. Nirasawa
I heard that during the Nara Period (710–794), a large settlement nearby was destroyed by a landslide, and the people who moved to Koguriyama built the Kannon-do as memorial to the dead. In the late Edo Period, it burned down with fire. It was rebuilt but the main temple and enshrined statues had also been destroyed. Mokujiki Shonin, who was here for training was asked to make the Buddha statues. It has been 220 years since then.
– What should we look for?
Mr. Nirasawa
The Nyoirin Kannon statue is in the center, the Gyoki Bosatsu statue is to the right, the Daikokuten statue is to the left, and 16 small Budda statues are on the right and left. All 35 Mokujiki Budda statues are smiling, but they have different smiles. Look carefully at them one by one. It’s also surprising that these 35 statues were made from one gigantic ginkgo tree. In 1968, they were designated cultural assets by Niigata Prefecture. Mokujiki Buddha researchers also visit here. They say that the statues are well preserved and it’s rare to be able to see them so up close.
Koguriyama Mokujiki Kannon-do
3467 Koguriyama, Ojiya City
Phone: 0258-83-3512 (Ojiya Tourism Association)
●Open to public on the 17th of every month from May to November and on the day of bullfights
9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. *Closed from November to April due to snow.
Admission: 300 yen (Please place it in the offertory box)
25 min. from Kan-etsu Expressway Ojiya IC