RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture--About 7,000 people across Japan created a Buddhist statue from trees of a forest that was flattened by the 2011 tsunami.
RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture--About 7,000 people across Japan created a Buddhist statue from trees of a forest that was flattened by the 2011 tsunami.
Seizan Watanabe, a Buddhist statue sculptor based in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, was the main carver of the kannon (deity of mercy) statue.
But thousands of others also played a part.
After the project started in January 2012, wood for the statue was sent to about 30 locations around the country where residents could each chisel a portion and make donations for the Tohoku region.
The project was planned to pray for those killed by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and to support reconstruction of the stricken region.
The statue will be on display in Watanabe’s hometown of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, starting on Jan. 24, before it is donated to Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit areas in the disaster.
A city employee of Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture, who had been dispatched to Tohoku to assist in reconstruction efforts, initiated the project.
The employee asked Taimadera temple in Katsuragi about using wood from the 70,000 pine trees of the coastal Takata-Matsubara forest that were knocked down in the tsunami.
Only one tree remained standing after the tsunami hit the Takata-Matsubara pine forest, and it became a symbol of hope.
Upon a request from the temple, Watanabe visited Rikuzentakata and was deeply touched by the words of the survivors.
“We owe it to those who were killed to remain firm and move forward,” one of them said.
Watanabe decided to create a sculpture not only to offer prayers to the souls of the deceased but also to support the future of the affected areas.
Pine trees are knotty, so Watanabe put together high-quality trunks from about 20 trees and used “ichiboku-zukuri,” a method of carving from large, single pieces of wood.
The statue, 85 centimeters tall and 60 centimeters wide--and with a heavenly smile--was named “Ayumi Kannon,” meaning “a deity for going step by step.”
Each person who carved the statue was allowed to keep the wood shavings from the destroyed forest as good-luck charms.
A ceremony to draw the eyes on the statue symbolizing the infusion of a soul will be held in Rikuzentakata on July 11.