TOKYO —
Ryohoji in western Tokyo was just another temple that few passersby would have cared to enter until it came up with the idea of using anime-like characters as a tool to bring in visitors.
Some may frown at the combination of Buddhism and geek culture at the 420-year-old temple, which has even held ‘‘maid cafe’’ events inside its grounds.
They may feel differently, however, once they learn that the 46-year-old chief priest is seriously seeking ways to interact with the younger generation as ties between temples and local communities become weaker in modern Japanese society.
The turning point for the temple in the city of Hachioji came in May 2009 when it put up a colorful signboard welcoming visitors with original ‘‘moe’’ anime characters created from the images of gods enshrined in the temple. ‘‘Moe’’ is a Japanese slang term used by avid ‘‘manga’’ comic book and anime fans to express a feeling similar to ‘‘cute.’‘
The characters include those depicting the ‘‘Benzaiten’’ goddess of art and music, wearing a pink costume and holding a sword, and the ‘‘Kishibojin’’ goddess of childbirth and children.
‘‘Nowadays, the younger generation, even those from households that have financially supported the temple, do not visit us except for funerals or memorial services. So I wanted to make a sign that would be eye-catching for them, and to various other people living in this commuter town,’’ Shoko Nakazato, the priest, said.
Nakazato had wanted for a while to use ‘‘something artistic’’ to promote Buddhism. Nevertheless, even after the attempt to become what is now called a ‘‘moe’’ temple began to take shape with the help of the grandson of one of the temple’s supporters, who also manages an event company, he still had trouble making up his mind.
‘‘I was not sure whether it was right to put up such a signboard for a temple…The picture is cute, but it has so much impact ... and I was very concerned that it may startle visitors,’’ Nakazato said.
The signboard was designed by an ‘‘Akiba-style’’ illustrator and singer who goes by the name of Toromi. ‘‘Akiba’’ is a shortened form of Akihabara, Tokyo’s famous electronics district and a center of Japanese subculture, including manga and animation.
Toromi said she was initially worried she was doing something ‘‘indiscreet,’’ but came to think that it might be a good thing even if the signboard stirred controversy, as it might lead people to think about religion or visit the temple.
It did not take much time for the signboard to produce its effect. Before some media started to highlight the temple a few months later, young people were already showing up to take photos.
During a two-day local festival in November 2009, the temple saw a total of some 2,000 visitors, including 400 people who spent time at a temporary cafe with waitresses dressed as maids—a drastic change from the past ‘‘when hardly anyone stopped by,’’ Nakazato said.
The temple has also generated publicity with related projects organized by the event company and others, such as the release of an up-tempo ‘‘temple theme song,’’ which is embedded with words from the Lotus Sutra, and a mobile phone program that plays a recording of Nakazato chanting the sutra.
Recently, the temple held an event to dedicate a figure of the Benzaiten character, calling it a ‘‘moe Buddhist statue.’’ Takeshi Miyagawa, 41, the creator of the figure, said that Buddhist statues should also ‘‘evolve’’ in the modern age by using cutting-edge design and materials so that his generation can also naturally come to admire them just as people appreciated statues made in their own time in the past.
While many of the responses were basically positive, according to Toromi, some people living nearby appear to have mixed feelings about the change in the temple.
Tetsuya Ono, a 54-year-old company employee, said that Japanese temples should ‘‘devise ways’’ to lure visitors rather than become desolate, but added that he is not sure about the direction Ryoho Temple is heading toward.
‘‘I think the signboard was a fine idea, but maid cafe events were going too far,’’ Ono said. ‘‘And I’m afraid that the temple will end up being just a mecca of fans of manga and anime, which is probably not the temple’s intention.’
Nobuharu Imai, a researcher specializing in religious sociology, said that historically some sects of Buddhism have developed under the guidance of monks who seemed to act against the Buddhist establishment of their times, and that Ryoho Temple’s attempt may be one such move.
Imai, research assistant at the Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics at Kokugakuin University, said it remains to be seen whether Nakazato can maintain the interest or whether the development will be just a temporary boom destined to fade away.
‘‘The temple has succeeded in bringing in visitors, so the next challenge will be how the priest can use this chance to promote Buddhism…It may also become an opportunity to revive the temple as a key local community space, like in past days,’’ Imai said.
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