Police in Kyoto have arrested a 51-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of theft after he stole a Buddha statue (called “Gattenji”) from Ryuhonji Temple, the head temple of the Nichiren Shoshu branch of Buddhism in Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward.
According to police, Naohiro Okazaki, who was arrested on Tuesday, is a former member of the temple, local media reported. He was quoted by police as saying he stole the statue in June 2021 but had to sell it “to pay for living expenses.”
On May 1, the statue was posted for sale on the online site Yahoo! Auction. It was returned to the temple after the site learned it had been stolen.
The statue has been on display in the temple since 1708, the year the temple was rebuilt in its present location.
© Japan Today
12 Comments
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Temyong
Apparently Buddha is incapable of stopping a crime committed against himself. He was oblivious he was being stolen.
kaimycahl
@bokuda but you can become a thief by choice at any age!
Can you get a convini job after 51?
bokuda
Can you get a convini job after 51?
kurisupisu
@ Strangerland
Thefts from temples and shrines are way up.
It’s all over the media in Japan.
You obviously don’t get ‘that’ news in Canada?
Strangerland
Is it? Got any numbers to support that?
Do you? Where do you see this? And how do the number of times you actually hear about it compare to the actual number of incidents in which it happens?
GillislowTier
petty nonsense theft like this is becoming common in Japan. Almost daily you see police investigation being launched looking for people who steal scrap metal from car repair shops, or wires, and what not to sell.
that wealth and pension gap the ldp made is getting more and more serious
WA4TKG
Scumbag is a scumbag, in any country
602miko
Lazy a@@