KANSAI&WEST / Many hands help temple come full circle / Sh.

KANSAI&WEST / Many hands help temple come full circle / Shiga Prefecture temple recovers from devastating fire with effo

Yomiuri

OSAKA

OSAKA--Junno Okamura, the elder of Kannonshoji temple in Azuchicho, Shiga Prefecture, recites Buddhist sutras every morning in front of the temple's principal image--a statue of a seated, multiarmed Kannon deity--even though it has been two years since he retired from the post of chief priest.

Now 70 years old, Okamura sits in front of the 3.5-meter-high image, smelling the wood and thinking of how fortunate he has been in life to have helpful people close to him.

Kannonshoji, which is the 32nd stop on a pilgrimage of 33 sacred places in western Japan, only recently adopted Senju …