Please save the Buddhist statues evacuated by wildfire!
Donation Request for Ashikaga City Forest Fire

On Sunday, February 21, 2021, shortly after 3:30 p.m., a wildfire broke out near the top of Mt. Ryogeyama, located in Nishinomiya-cho in the midwestern part of Ashikaga City, and burned for nine days until it was declared under control by the Ashikaga Mayor on March 1. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished without any damage to houses or human casualties.

The forest fire in Ashikaga City was a large-scale wildfire, and firefighters and Self-Defense Forces rushed to the scene from various locations to extinguish the blaze. In addition to the Ashikaga City fire brigade, units from Sano, Oyama, Kanuma, Utsunomiya, Nasu, and other prefectures in the prefecture, and from Kiryu, Isesaki, Ota, and Tokyo Fire Department in Gunma Prefecture outside the prefecture, as well as helicopters from the Self Defense Forces, Tochigi Prefectural Air Force, Saitama Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Tokyo Fire Department, Yokohama Fire Department, and others, arrived on the scene, They conducted firefighting and reconnaissance activities.

The wildfire that started near the top of Mt. Ryougeyama spread quickly in the dry winter air, fueled by strong winds, and spread to the west side of Mt. 　As for damage, the Mitake Shrine (Ontake Shrine) located on the summit of Ryogeyama was completely destroyed by the fire. The entire forest area of about 106 hectares (about 20 times the size of the Tokyo Dome) was destroyed by the fire. Evacuation advisories were eventually issued to 305 households, but fortunately no homes were destroyed by fire and no one was injured. Ashikaga City wildfire as seen from the main temple of Bishamonten, Mt.

As of March 1, 2021, the cause of the fire has not been determined and we are awaiting the results of further investigation.
One theory is that the fire was caused by a cigarette fire near the hiking trail rest area near the top of both cliffs.

As of March 1, Ashikaga City has not announced any specific recovery plan, but is accepting donations for disaster recovery through the Furusato tax payment system. In addition, Ashikaga City is considering recruiting volunteers for disaster recovery efforts.

The fire spreading from a forest fire in Ashikaga City was threatening to reach the precincts of Oiwayama Bishamonten, and it was judged that the fire might burn down the temple. Since evacuation activities were expected to take a considerable amount of time, we began evacuation activities at an early date.

The forest fire at Mt. Oiwa Bishamonten spread, and we began evacuation on the 23rd when we were able to see the fire coming from the Saishoji temple's main temple. The first thing we did was to pack up and remove the Buddhist statues, including the Gohonzon Fudo Myoo statue in the main temple hall. The chief priest from a neighboring temple came to help us with the work.

In the meantime, we asked for the cooperation of neighborhood residents and about 45 people gathered at the Bishamonten main hall. A local construction company brought a 2-ton truck to remove the main sanctuary and other large ema (votive picture tablet) items. Priority was given to evacuation, and the items were carried out one after another in order of height. As for the evacuation site, we evacuated to a facility in Ashikaga City. The work continued until around 3:00 a.m. on the following day, the 24th.

This is probably the first time that the statue of Gohonzon Bishamonten (the principal image of Bishamonten) has been brought out of the hall since it was brought in when the main hall was rebuilt in 1762 after being destroyed by a lightning fire. The building would normally have been removed after a month-long investigation and planning by a specialized contractor, but it was hastily removed in a few hours with the cooperation of the local community. Because of the long-term deterioration over time, some of the items were damaged. Before it can return to the kitchen of the main hall, it will need to be restored after a survey of the damage and historical research. At this time, there are no prospects for such an investigation or restoration.

On the 23rd, the evacuation of the high priority items in the main hall was completed, so on the next day, the 24th, we began the evacuation of the Aun Kongorikishi statue (Niou statue) placed at the temple gate.

The Kongorikishi statue, which had been undergoing a restoration project in commemoration of the Emperor Imajo's great birthday, was nearly 3 meters in both the A- and Un-gyo forms, and it was expected to take about three months to have the entire statue removed by a specialized contractor. The detailed history of how the statues were built had not been revealed, and the loss of the statues meant the loss of their history.

We wondered if we could somehow partially evacuate the head, so we contacted two female Buddhist statue restorers from Sanjodo, who were to be commissioned to restore the statue, and they were able to come from Kanuma on short notice.

Previous X-ray investigations had revealed the use of numerous nails and clamps around the neck. This meant that if the neck was fixed with nails, it would be difficult to remove it in a short period of time.

We asked a local carpenter to build a simple scaffold so that we could get closer to the two Kongorikishi statues, and when we immediately checked the heads, we found that not a single nail had been used and that they had been assembled by inserting them into the body. We were also able to confirm that there was a ridge board inside the womb, and we succeeded in evacuating the statue without losing the history of the statue's construction.

Although we had evacuated from the highest priority items, numerous historical Buddhist artifacts remained in the main hall. As it was a weekday, it was difficult to ask for the cooperation of local residents, and we were anxious to work with a limited number of people.

Then, suddenly, a student from the Ashikaga Technical High School baseball team contacted us and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help? I will go to the temple right away! The relationship between Oiwa Bishamonten and the Ashikaga Technical High School baseball team is deep, and every New Year's all the members of the team participated in a goma practice to pray for victory. This time, six of the club members came to help out on their own, without being told to do so by their parents or teachers.

With their bodies trained on a daily basis, they evacuated the remaining historical Buddhist artifacts, including the bells and kitchen frames, which had been too heavy to remove, as well as solemn implements such as large lanterns and gold evergreens.

Thanks to the baseball team members, most of the items left in the main hall were gone, and the evacuation was generally completed without incident. When they left, they said with a smile, "Please call us when you need us to bring them in again! They smiled and said, "Please call us again when you need us to carry them in!

I was deeply grateful for the support of these local people, who have helped to make the mountain's 1,276-year history count since its opening.

Since the evacuation of the main hall of Mt. Oiwa Bishamonten had been largely completed by the 25th, we decided to evacuate historical materials such as books in the Saishoji temple main hall on the 26th. We packed up the sutras, past books, and other materials in the main temple building and evacuated them one by one.

On February 27, the evacuation of Oiwa Bishamonten as a whole was generally completed, and we gave first aid to the statue of Kongorikishi, which was evacuated on February 24.

As of the 24th, we were able to remove the heads of the two statues, A and Un, and evacuate the right arm of Un. However, there was still a large hole in the body of the statue where the heads had been removed. We decided to cover the hole with plastic as an emergency measure, since the statue could be damaged by rain, animals, or insects.

The method and work were handled by Sanjyodo, a group of female Buddhist statue restorers, with the cooperation of the Ashikaga City Cultural Affairs Division. Currently, the statue of Kongorikishi was to be restored by Sanjyodo as a commemorative project for the Emperor Imajo's Great Ceremony. Read more..

This treatment is only a stopgap measure. We are planning to take full-scale treatment before the rainy season and other humid periods. We have also consulted with the experts on the Ashikaga City Cultural Affairs Committee, but it seems that there is almost no precedent for the preservation of statues in this condition, and it is necessary to create a new method to deal with the situation.

As previously noted, as part of the evacuation activities following the forest fire in Ashikaga City, many items were evacuated from the main hall of Mt. Oiwayama Bishamonten, the temple gate, the shrine office, the main temple and other buildings, including the statue of Gohonzon Bishamonten, Buddhist statues, Buddhist ritual implements, ema and other cultural properties, and historical materials such as picture scrolls and past books.

On March 1, when the evacuation was declared under control, we began to gradually move the evacuated items back to their original locations. We continued to carry back the evacuated items and restore the temple throughout the month of March. On March 30, we brought back the three statues of Bishamonten (the main deity), Kichijoten (the attendant deity), and Zenkojidoko (the guardian deity) from the Ashikaga City facility and enshrined them in the temporary Shumidan in the main hall. The three statues were too damaged to return them to the kitchen, and they needed to be restored before that, so for the time being they will be displayed on the temporary altar.

Thus, on April 1, ceremonies and prayers were able to resume as before the forest fire. For the first time in the 260 years since the main hall was rebuilt, the Gohonzon has emerged from the kitchen and is being unveiled.

From May 10 to 31, the de-opening of the temple will be temporarily suspended to allow us to conduct research on the damage and history of the Gohonzon.

Degai-cho will resume on June 1.

Due to evacuation activities following the recent forest fire in Ashikaga City, we have removed the Gohonzon Bishamonten-sama, as well as other cultural properties such as statues of Buddha and ema (votive picture tablet). Due to deterioration over the years and damage sustained during the removal, it is necessary to survey and repair the damaged condition before they can be returned to the Mikuriya again.

Since April 1, 2021, we have been performing the dekaicho at the temporary Shumidan in the main hall, but the damage has been so severe that we have not been able to return any of our possessions to the temple. The restoration of the 2-meter tall Gohonzon and the two 3-meter tall Kongorikishi statues will require a large amount of money.

The Gohonzon, housed in the main hall of a temple with a history of nearly 1,300 years, which was rebuilt 260 years ago, has been brought out for the first time to undergo restoration. The transmission and bequeathing of history for hundreds and thousands of years to come will only be possible with the cooperation of everyone who contributes to the temple's purification fund. We would like to ask for your kind cooperation in order to achieve the goal of Mumakusho.

When you make a donation, please let us know your name and address through the Contact Us page on our website (click here).

The name of your donation will be recorded in the donation dedication book and will be prayed for in perpetuity. Your address will be used only for the progress of repairs and for communication.

• Oiwasan Bishamonten Temple Main Hall
  • Buddhist statue 
    • Gohonzon Bishamonten Statue
    • Supporting Attendants: Statue of Kichijo Tennyo
    • Zen'aiji Doji Statue (Wangzhi)
    • Urabutsu: Hyokkoten Doji Statue
  • Ema
    • Ema (votive tablet) commemorating the reconstruction of the main hall, depicting the Seven Deities of Good Luck
    • blueprint of the Dragon's Palace
    • Haiku frame (haiku by Kobayashi Issa)
    • The Empress of Divine Power (神功皇后図絵)

• Oiwasan Bishamonten Sanmon
  • Buddhist statue 
    • Kongorikishi Statue (A-form and Un-form)

*Future surveys may increase or decrease the number of statues and cultural properties in need of restoration. We will update this page as soon as it becomes known.