Buddhist temples joining matchmaking boom

Buddhist temples joining matchmaking boom

WAKAYAMA, Japan - Shunko Yoshino (R), chief priest of Anrakuji, a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren sect in the city of Wakayama, and Ryushin Yasutake (C), chief priest of Dorakuji, a Buddhist temple of the Kuze Kannon sect in the town of Katsuragi, Wakayama Prefecture, accept participants in a spouse-finding hunting event in front of an altar in the main hall of Anrakuji on Feb. 11, 2013.

Gion Festival begins in Kyoto

Gion Festival begins in Kyoto

Ryushin Kumeda (C), 11, attends the "Osendo no Gi" ritual to pray for success at the start of the one-month Gion Festival at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto on July 1, 2016. Kumeda will lead the parade of decorated floats, or Yamahoko procession, on July 17. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Gion Festival begins in Kyoto

Gion Festival begins in Kyoto

Ryushin Kumeda (C), 11, attends the "Osendo no Gi" ritual to pray for success at the start of the one-month Gion Festival at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto on July 1, 2016. Kumeda will lead the parade of decorated floats, or Yamahoko procession, on July 17. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Gion Festival begins in Kyoto

Gion Festival begins in Kyoto

Ryushin Kumeda (C), 11, attends the "Osendo no Gi" ritual to pray for success at the start of the one-month Gion Festival at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto on July 1, 2016. Kumeda will lead the parade of decorated floats, or Yamahoko procession, on July 17. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Priest of west Japan temple shows treasured Buddha statue

Priest of west Japan temple shows treasured Buddha statue

Ryushin Sugimoto, chief priest of the Mago-ji Buddhist temple on Sept. 15, 2015, in Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, holds a Buddha statue, designated by the Japanese government as an important cultural property. Over 30 temples in the Wakasa region of the western Japanese prefecture display treasured Buddha statues every autumn, drawing 25,000 visitors from across Japan last year, far more than 9,000 in 2012. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo