Intent of Construction

A Place where heart floats

Lushly leaving forests of bamboo. Clump of cedar looking up at the sky. Little alley running with a slight trace. Numerous green and flowers are growing thick underfoot. As you walk through the forests, persimmon farm appears on a gradual colline, and further, there is a rich paddy field. Located in the back of Ishioka village, Myouenji is surrounded by abundant Satoyama which grows a wide range of flora and fauna. On the occasion of the construction of the ossuary, he said, "I want the ossuary to be a place where people not only look back on the deceased ones, but also where they think about their future." He also said that he wants it to be like a place where people with various thoughts and lifestyle can come and relax without caring about prejudice.

I wanted to make this place a place that has a sense of clean air and is a boundary with another world, but is an extension of everyday life. A place where the consciousness is only slightly lifted. As you walk through the forest area behind the Main Hall, the sunbeams fluctuate, the pleasant wind blows through, and you can hear the sound of trees swaying in the wind. You can hear the cries of birds and insects, and even the waterfall from miles away. All of these are rich environment sounds played by Ishioka no Sato. Like river flow changes its form constantly although they look uniform, I wanted to make this place a place where gets along with the sounds that being born and disappear here.

As a result, on the corner of the mountain forest of Myouenji, a place like a palm that wraps around the linden tree, like an ear that is leaned to the village of Ishioka was created. Inside the square, the sense of the sound changes a little from the outside. Here, we plan to perform various events. In the bright hall where warm natural light comes in, the voice of the reading of the sutras goes around. Mountains that will not move even if the earth shakes, shrubs and flowers that sprout again as if nothing had happened even if they were swept away by big water. I sincerely hope that this place with nature will become a part of Ishioka's village and the people over the time.

Architect Ben Matsuno