To carve is divine/ Older students enjoy spiritual uplift of crafting statues

Carving wooden Buddhist statues is gaining popularity among the middle-aged and elderly, many of whom say they feel refreshed and spiritually uplifted while creating the divine images.

Some say carving the statues reduces their mental stress and physical fatigue from work, while for others the activity helps ease their sadness over the deaths of loved ones.

Although the motives vary, the work often makes them feel like putting their hands together in prayer.

“When you carve a face, please imagine it’s your child. Then, you won’t make a mistake,” said Myokan Matsumoto, 41, an instructor at the Suiden-an culture salon, which is located in the Nishijin district of Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto [Japan], in a building remodeled from a machiya town house built in the early Showa period (1926-1989). Read Article

By Setsuko Shibutani