Priests remove the dust from Buddhist statues and other items at Horyuji temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, on Dec. 8, 2021 in an annual December cleanup. (Mainichi/Satoshi Hishida)

       IKARUGA, Nara -- Priests dusted down Buddhist statues and other items at Horyuji temple, a World Heritage site in this west Japan town, in an annual cleanup on Dec. 8.

       Horyuji temple is said to have been founded by the sixth-seventh century Japanese prince Shotoku Taishi. About 10 monks including head priest Shokaku Furuya began the cleanup work in the morning after reading sutras at the temple's Kondo, or main hall, which houses statues including of Buddha and his two attendants and the Four Heavenly Kings -- designated as national treasures.

       Using dusters made by attaching Japanese "washi" paper to the tips of bamboo sticks and brushes, they carefully removed the dust from statues. They continued on to the Daikodo great lecture hall and the Yumedono hall of dreams to purify statues including the national treasure Kuse Kannon, which was built in the likeness of Shotoku Taishi, and is rarely unveiled to the public.

       Furuya said: "This year marks the 1,400th anniversary of the passing of prince Shotoku Taishi (in the Buddhist calendar), so we'd like to pass down his mind to the generations to come. We removed dust that accumulated over the year while wishing for the end of the coronavirus pandemic."

       The annual cleanup work has continued since 1994, a year after Buddhist Monuments in the Horyuji Area received a World Heritage listing.

       (Japanese original by Yusuke Kato, Nara Bureau)

       In Photos: Priests remove dust on Buddhist statues at Horyuji temple in west Japan

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