Surreal scenes of Nara’s giant Buddha statue getting its once-a-year cleaning from 170 people【Video】

Size difference makes human cleaners of the Daibutsu statue look like tiny little spirits.

If you had a bunch of people about to come visit your home, you’d want to clean yourself up before they arrived, right? It’s just common courtesy.

So with Japan’s Obon summer vacation period just about to start, and a whole lot of travelers planning to visit Nara’s Todaiji Temple soon, it’s important for the building’s most prominent resident to look his best. Said resident, however, is the Daibutsu, or Great Buddha statue, which is a towering 14.98 meters (49.15 feet) tall, so this once-a-year cleaning session is no simple task, but it’s definitely a compellingly surreal sight to see.

【動画あり】大仏さま、さっぱりと　東大寺でお身拭いhttps://t.co/DbpW9WhRP1#奈良市 #東大寺 #大仏殿 #盧舎那仏 #ほこり #お身拭い #nara_np #奈良新聞 pic.twitter.com/eSLO8bCPMW

— 奈良新聞（Nara Shimbun） (@nara_np) August 7, 2024

The annual event is called ominugui, literally “wiping the body.” It takes place every year on the morning of August 7, and begins with a ritual of purification for the participants, plus a ceremony to symbolically and temporarily remove the soul of the Daibutsu, so as not to desecrate it by climbing and stepping all over it while cleaning.

Because of how tall the statue is, an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys is used to lift cleaners up and suspend them in mid-air to dust and wipe off the Great Buddha’s face, forehead, and complexly contoured hairdo.

本日8/7、大仏さまの御身体を拭う「お身拭い」が行われました。大仏さまが綺麗にさっぱりされて喜んでおられるように見えます。
The OMINUGUI ceremony (Cleaning of the Great Buddha) has been held and the Great Buddha seems to be refreshed!
#奈良 #東大寺 #大仏さま #お身拭い #nara #todaiji pic.twitter.com/bEmJigkCcb

— 華厳宗大本山 東大寺【公式】 Tōdai-ji Temple (@todaiji) August 7, 2024

Ordinarily, of course, visitors are not allowed to climb up on the statue like this, and the images of the ominugui ceremony drive home just how big it is. At the same time, from certain angles where there aren’t any other objects visible in the shot for comparison, it almost looks like the Daibutsu is human-sized, and the people are a group of little spirit folk.

8/7(月)「大仏さまお身拭い」(約2時間)を行います。午前７時より撥遣作法が行われた後、全員でお経を唱え、年に一度の大仏さまの「お身拭い」を始めます。尚、一般入堂は通常通り午前7時半ですのでご注意ください。 #奈良 #東大寺 #大仏さま #お身拭い #大仏殿 #国宝 詳細: https://t.co/H5YKwtusaa pic.twitter.com/8joZfz7Hef

— 華厳宗大本山 東大寺【公式】 Tōdai-ji Temple (@todaiji) July 30, 2023

【奈良 東大寺で大仏のお身拭い】
大仏は高さが15mもあるため顔や胸などは天井からつるしたかごも使いながら、ほこりを拭き取りますhttps://t.co/mzORoTGp4d#nhk_video pic.twitter.com/Qh5DlRFhFT

— NHK大阪ニュース (@nhk_bknews) August 7, 2024

▼ The ominugui ceremony in 1957

#なつかしの映像　
 
大仏にたまったほこりを落とす「お身拭い」
今年も東大寺で行われましたhttps://t.co/GYKKVdKg1F
 
こちらは昭和３２年の様子です pic.twitter.com/Vfpoz1jWbc

— NHK奈良放送局 (@nhk_nara) August 7, 2024

Roughly 170 people took part in this year’s event, with both monks and non-monk volunteers grabbing brooms and dusters to get the job done. If you’re interested in pitching in next year, Todaiji usually posts a volunteers-wanted notice on its website as the ominugui date draws near.

Related: Todaiji official website
Source: MBS News, Visit Nara
Top image: Pakutaso
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