Crowdfunding starts for reconstruction of Kukai-linked hall

Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Pref. – A crowdfunding initiative began Tuesday to raise ¥120 million ($758,000) for the reconstruction of a hall in Hiroshima Prefecture associated with Buddhist saint Kukai (774-835), which was destroyed by fire in May.

Donations will be accepted until Jan. 4 next year. The Reikado hall on Miyajima Island in the city of Hatsukaichi in the prefecture had been managed by Daishoin, a main temple of the Omuro School of Shingon Buddhism.

“The hurdle is high,” Shoyu Yoshida, the 66-year-old chief priest of the temple, said of the crowdfunding target. Still, he said, “We hope to make preparations for the reconstruction with a lot of sincerity (from donors).”

On Tuesday, an event to pray for the hall’s reconstruction was held at the site of the burned facility. Construction is slated to start in spring 2027, with completion expected for November that year.

According to the temple, the total Reikado reconstruction cost is expected to be about ¥280 million, three times the amount spent to rebuild it following a fire in 2005. The surge is due chiefly to inflation.

Located near the summit of Mount Misen, Reikado housed the “eternal flame,” which is said to have been burning for nearly 1,200 years since Kukai underwent training. At the time of the latest fire, the eternal flame was stored also in a different location.

The flame served as the source fire for the Flame of Peace at the Peace Memorial Park in the city of Hiroshima, which was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, in the closing days of World War II.