Giant cockroach statue brings new life to shrinking Nara village - The Mainichi
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Photo taken on March 2, 2026, shows the "Gokiburiten" -- a cockroach deity -- statue at Rinsenji Temple in Kamikitayama, Nara Prefecture. (Kyodo)
NARA (Kyodo) -- A giant bronze cockroach with muscular arms and a sumo wrestler's stance is drawing tourists to a shrinking mountain village in western Japan, where the bizarre temple statue has become an unexpected tourist draw.
Installed more than 25 years ago at Rinsenji Temple in the village of Kamikitayama, Nara Prefecture, the towering "Gokiburiten" -- a cockroach deity -- was originally built as a memorial for pests.
Today, the figure attracts curious visitors from across Japan and overseas, helping bring new attention to a rural community struggling with depopulation.
Kamikitayama sits about a two-hour drive south of the city of Nara, tucked into a forested region. At the entrance to Rinsenji Temple, visitors are immediately confronted by the statue: a 170-centimeter bronze cockroach resembling a human form with six limbs -- four powerful arms extended outward and two legs with feet firmly anchored to the ground.
Its creator, sculptor Hiroo Amano, 72, from Mizunami in Gifu Prefecture, said he wanted to challenge expectations of how such a creature might be represented.
"I wanted to create a powerful-looking cockroach," Amano said.
He drew inspiration from the dramatic "mie" poses of Kabuki, as well as the ritualistic energy of sumo wrestling's ring-entering ceremonies. The result is a figure frozen in a theatrical stance, more symbolic than realistic.
Amano also embedded a miniature human city within the statue's abdomen, a detail he said reflected a reversal of points of view.
"When creating this memorial statue, I decided to reverse the roles and depict humans as parasitic on the cockroach," he said.
Although the word for cockroach, "gokiburi," is not usually written in kanji characters, he chose to do so to give it a sacred tone while preserving its layered meaning.
The statue was commissioned by Sono, an Osaka-based building maintenance company that has worked in pest control for more than 30 years, carrying out more than 2,000 cockroach extermination jobs annually.
Its founder, Ryozaburo Minamisono, 84, said the idea was born from a desire to create something out of the ordinary.
"I wanted to create something off the wall," he laughed.
Minamisono had a long-standing personal connection to the temple. He and the former head priest of Rinsenji were childhood classmates, a relationship that eventually led to the statue being installed at the temple in November 2000.
Since then, the bronze figure has steadily taken on a life of its own.
Groups of young people now visit regularly to see the unusual landmark. International tourists, including travelers from China and Poland, also make their way to the remote village, turning the statue into an unexpected point of cultural curiosity.
For residents, the attention has brought both surprise and a sense of connection.
Miho Kojima, the wife of the temple's former head priest, has lived alongside the statue since its installation. Over the years, she has watched as visitors from outside the prefecture arrive in increasing numbers, transforming the quiet temple grounds into a place of interaction.
"This statue is a source of strength for me," Kojima said.
The statue has also helped create bonds between locals and outsiders, offering moments of conversation and exchange that are increasingly rare in a village facing demographic decline.
More than 25 years on, its surface has grown smoother and more lustrous, polished by time and by the hands of those who stop to examine it closely.
Kojima encourages visitors to approach the statue freely and hopes they will enjoy it "as a work of art."
(By Miyu Ito)
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