On April 10 at 10 o’clock in the morning, our new statue was inspected and the ceremony was held at Honzan. It was the first time to view our new statue for our members and me. When I saw the statue for the first time, I was really impressed by the gentle face and graceful body of Amida Buddha. Then, my eyes were suddenly filled with tears. I was overwhelmed with feelings of joy and appreciation for achieving the statue after three years of hard works with our members. It was truly honor for me as your resident minister to attend the ceremony and receive a new statue of Amida Buddha at Honzan. According to the Honzan, it was the first case to inspect a statue and observe a ceremony for the temple from overseas. Also, the inspector mentioned that our statue was the biggest among the statues which they inspected. You will be able to view our new statue in the middle of June, when whole new ornaments will be placed in our temple.

Mr. Shoun Nakanishi who was certified as a Hongwanji craftsman by Honzan sculptured our new statue. He was also at our ceremony.

At first, Honzan inspected the statue of Amida Buddha. It took almost one hour. The points of the inspection were as follows; a) Wooden Statue – materials (various kinds of Japanese wood recognized by Honzan), method of manufacture (either a joint block construction or a single block), and body color (head is blue and the body is gold); b) Various Parts of the Statue – height of the body (from the soles of the feet to the hairline on the forehead and top of the head), head (There is a protuberance on the top of the head, known as the wisdom protuberance, and the entire head is covered with spiral curls. In the central area on the front of the head is a protuberance, known as the "jewel of spiritual wisdom"), face (eyebrows, curl of white hair, nose, mouth, moustache, beard, chin, and neck), eyes (carved eyes and inset eyes), ears (open-holed earlobe), hands (The right arm is bent at the elbow with the right hand raised to shoulder level and the palm facing outward. The left arm is slightly bent at the elbow with the left hand hanging pendant and the palm facing outward. The thumb and index finger of both hands are joined to form a circle and the other fingers are lightly extended.), feet (The feet are apart with the toes pointing slightly outward. The statue stands upon the lotus dais in a very natural-looking, upright pose with both feet in alignment, side by side. The statue is held firmly in place on the dais, using a mortise and tenon combination.), robes (The robes on the statue consist of the surplice, a cloth garment wrapped around the upper body, and skirt-like garment wrapped around the lower body.); c) Aureole (The aureole behind the statue consists of two sections: the head aureole and the body aureole.) – radiance behind the head (The radiance behind the head consists of three parts: a lotus flower motif, a circle surrounding the lotus, and 48 spokes), radiance behind the body (The radiance behind the body is in the shape of a boat standing on end.), materials, and method of manufacture (made of wood, carved, and gilded); d) Dais (The statue stands upon an exquisitely carved and detailed dais or pedestal that consists of several sections) – a throne in the shape of a lotus blossom, an upper stem portion in the shape of an eggplant, a flower tray surbase, a lower stem portion in the shape of an eggplant, an inverted lotus pedal surbase, a supporting pedestal, and the feet of the dais.

Thus, lots of points were inspected in detail and the new statue was approved and recognized as a certified statue of the Hongwanji. After the inspection, we observed a service in front of the new statue. We chanted the sutra and offered the incense. Then, we received a certificate of the statue of the Amida Buddha. After the presentation of the certificate, the inspector who was a supervisor of the inspection department of the Honzan delivered the Dharma message. In his message, he mentioned, "Buddhism was transmitted from India to China and Japan. Then, Jodo Shinshu was found by Shinran Shonin in Japan. However, Jodo Shinshu is not only for people in Japan. Many people who live outside of Japan now appreciate the teachings. Today’s inspection and ceremony is such an example. It is very wonderful thing to visit main temple from overseas and observe a service with a new statue of Amida Buddha. Let us appreciate the teachings with your Sangha members in your daily life and further listen to the teachings of the Buddha by welcoming a new statue of Amida Buddha."

Namo-Amidabutsu