Man Arrested After Stealing Buddha Statue From Temple To Pay For Living Expenses

A man has been arrested after he reportedly stole a Buddha statue from a temple to pay for his living expenses in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan on Tuesday, June 14.

The thief, identified as Naohiro Okazaki, a 51-year-old unemployed man and a former member of Ryuhonji Temple, the head temple of the Nichiren Shoshu branch of Buddhism in Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward, was arrested on Tuesday, June 14, on suspicion of theft after he allegedly took off with a Buddha statue called “Gattenji” from the temple in June 2021.

Admitting to the crime, Okazaki confessed that after stealing the sacred statue, he had no option but to sell the artifact “to pay for his living expenses,” Japan Today reported.

The incident came to light after the stolen Buddha statue was posted for sale on the online site Yahoo! Auction on May 1 earlier this year. However, after the authorities learned that the statue was stolen from the Ryuhonji Temple sometime last year, the relic was returned to the temple.

The "Gattenji" statue has been on display in the Ryuhonji temple since the year 1708.

In a similar but unrelated incident, an Avalokiteshwara Padamapani idol has been recovered over 20 years after it was smuggled out of India in February earlier this year, NDTV reported.

The Avalokiteshwara Padamapani idol dates back to the 8th to 12th century and survived for almost 1,200 years in the Devisthan Kundulpur temple in Bihar till it was illicitly stolen and smuggled out of India in early 2000.

In Buddhism, Avalokiteshwara is the bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas and, in the statue, he is depicted as standing, holding the stem of a blossoming lotus in his left hand.

The idol was traced in Milan through tireless efforts from India Pride Project, Singapore, and Art Recovery International, London.

"It is learned that the said sculpture had briefly surfaced in the art market in France, before being located in Milan Italy. India Pride Project, Singapore, and Art Recovery International, London swiftly assisted in the identification and return of the stolen idol," the Indian consulate in Milan said in a statement.