Photo/Illutration The 11-face Kannon wooden statue, which novelist Yasushi Inoue likened to “an aristocrat from the Tenpyo Era (729-749),” is shown at Fukurinji temple in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, on Sept. 24. (Manabu Kitagawa)

MORIYAMA, Shiga Prefecture--A famed Buddhist statue likened by a renowned novelist to a noble from the Tenpyo Era (729-749) will go on public display here in November.

Fukurinji temple in the city’s Konohamacho district said the 11-face Kannon statue was last shown to the public 44 years ago and recently underwent its first overhaul in a century.

The standing-style wooden effigy is the temple’s principal object of worship and a government-designated important cultural property. It famously features in Yasushi Inoue (1907-1991)’s novel “Hoshi to Matsuri” (Stars and Festivals).

Fukurinji is thought to have been established by Saicho (767-822), the founder of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, during the early Heian Period (794-1185). The statue is honored at a storage room with a 3-meter-high door at the back of the main hall.

It dates from the mid- to late Heian Period and stands 162.2 centimeters tall.

The bodhisattva of mercy showcases a gentle yet dignified expression. The contour from the shoulders to waist level leaves a soft, flowing impression, almost as if the statue is flesh and blood.

Especially distinctive is the sculpture’s slightly rightward-twisted waist and raised left leg that collectively give the Kannon the appearance of walking.

“At first sight, people are always taken aback,” said Jikei Takagi, 77, the chief priest of Fukurinji. “The statue must have the power to comfort people’s hearts in an instant.”

These unique traits are vividly depicted by Inoue in his “Hoshi to Matsuri.”

Serialized between 1971 and 1972 in The Asahi Shimbun, the story retraces how a father who lost his daughter in an accident at Lake Biwako in Shiga Prefecture finds spiritual solace by touring a series of 11-face Kannon representations scattered around the lakeside.

The Kannon at Fukurinji is described in the book as boasting an “elegant and graceful face.”

“Standing there, the statue looks more like an aristocrat from the Tenpyo Era than a Buddhist figure,” Inoue wrote. “Its lips are tightly closed and offer the impression of determination, although it is not the least bit intimidating.”

He concluded that the Kannon sculpture “is rather noble.”

Takagi, the chief priest, referred to the Kannon as a secret treasure that is normally kept hidden from public view. It generally goes on public display once every 33 years or so.

The last time was in fall 1981. It was next slated to be shown in autumn 2014 but the event was postponed.

Surface peeling occurred on the statue’s right cheek and the right side of its belly during this period, which necessitated repairs over the course of 10 months, starting in May 2023, at the national treasure conservation center of the Bijutsuin art organization in Kyoto.

It marked the first restoration since 1920 in the Taisho Era (1912-1926).

Fukurinji used to enshrine an Amitabha triad as well. The two accompanying figures on either side of the central Amitabha were destroyed in 1571 when forces loyal to the warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) set the temple ablaze.

Fukurinji commissioned a Buddhist sculptor in Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, to replicate the pair of the side figurines, known as the Kannon Bodhisattva and the Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva.

The reproductions are scheduled to be delivered by the end of October. A ceremony to mark their completion will be held in time for the exhibit of the temple’s principal object of worship in November.

“It will be my pleasure for visitors to pray and take in the compassionate presence of the Kannon now that it has been restored,” Takagi said.

The Kannon will go on public display from Nov. 1 through Nov. 16. Tsuyu no Maruko, a Tendai Buddhist monk who doubles as a “rakugo” comic storyteller, is expected to perform at the temple at 3 p.m. on Nov. 8.

Those who wish to apply for the rare viewing need to specify their desired dates and number of people in the party, along with names and contact information, to Fukurinji by fax at 077-585-6015. The admission fee is 1,000 yen ($6.60).

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