Japan's Empty Temples Seek New Ways to Survive
A 370-year-old temple in Japan, situated on the Chita Peninsula, is up for sale at 482 million yen (€2.66 million, US$3.01 million). This sum covers the expenses for taking it apart and moving it for renovation into a home. The structure spans 350 square meters and features a distinctive curved roof, wooden walls, and a prayer hall. Out of the 77,000 temples in Japan, 17,000 lack full-time priests due to declining church attendance and financial challenges. Tomomi Iwayama, the abbot of Ganshu-ji, has been engaging the community and has even set up a 'smart graveyard.' Jake Adelstein, a journalist and Zen priest, notes that fewer young people are choosing the priesthood because of low pay. Despite some temples merging, there remains interest in temple properties, including from overseas buyers. Iwayama remains hopeful that Buddhism will still draw followers, even in tough economic times.
Key facts
- A 370-year-old temple on the Chita Peninsula in central Japan is for sale at 482 million yen (€2.66 million, US$3.01 million), including dismantling and delivery anywhere in Japan.
- The 350-square-meter temple features a curved roof, timber-frame walls, tatami-mat prayer hall, and decorated altar in manicured gardens.
- Japan has around 77,000 temples, but as many as 17,000 no longer have a full-time resident priest due to shrinking congregations and financial pressures.
- Tomomi Iwayama became abbot of the abandoned Ganshu-ji temple in Odawara a decade ago; it had been without an abbot for 70 years.
- Iwayama introduced a 'smart graveyard' where families scan a card and a robotic system retrieves ashes from the columbarium.
- Odawara is a coastal town about 80 kilometers southwest of Tokyo with around 200,000 residents.
- Jake Adelstein, an American journalist and author, is a Zen priest at Zenshoin Temple in Tokyo's Toshima Ward and is training to become an abbot.
- Annual grave fees can reach 100,000 yen, with memorials and rites adding financial burden, and young people avoid priest careers due to low pay.
Entities
Artists
- Tomomi Iwayama
- Joey Stockermans
- Jake Adelstein
- Karl Sexton
- Alexander Pöschel
Institutions
- Ganshu-ji temple
- Zenshoin Temple
- Mokomoko
- DW
- Odawara Castle
Locations
- Japan
- Chita Peninsula
- Odawara
- Tokyo
- Toshima Ward
- Nagasawacho district