OSAKA–In a uncommon partnership, Mitsutera temple right here will bodily merge with a big resort in an try and go down the temple to posterity.
A decline in parishioner numbers and an rising demand for simplified funerals have made it troublesome for the temple to outlive financially.
The temple’s principal corridor might be included into Candeo Hotels Osaka Shinsaibashi, which is scheduled to open on Nov. 26 within the metropolis’s Chuo Ward.
Founded within the Nara Period (710-784), the temple is a member of the Omuro college of the Shingon sect of Buddhism headquartered at Ninnaji temple in Kyoto.
Mitsutera temple enshrines the statue of the 11-faced Kanzeon Bodhisattva.
The present principal corridor was rebuilt in 1808 and survived the Great Osaka Air Raid in 1945.
The 15-story resort with a basement stage is being constructed immediately above the temple, with the principle corridor inside the first three flooring.
The 180-room resort will occupy the fourth by fifteenth tales, with business amenities situated on the basement stage and the primary by third flooring.
The prime ground will function an open-air tub and a sauna.
Plans are being drawn as much as permit resort friends to take part in non secular practices, together with morning prayers, “eshakyo” (transcription of sutra and Buddha pictures) and meditation.
They may additionally be served breakfasts themed on vegetarian Buddhist delicacies.
“While it is becoming difficult to manage the temple, we can’t let it close and stop enshrining Buddha,” stated chief priest Tetsuro Kaga.
“We want to pass down the main hall for 50 or 100 years to come and perform religious activities in a stable manner to promote faith among parishioners, followers, local residents and tourists.”