KAMAKURA, Kanagawa Prefecture—Tourists flock to the Kotoku-in Buddhist temple here to marvel at and shoot photos of the Great Buddha of Kamakura, one of the most iconic images of Japan.

However, the small Kangetsudo shrine that once was sited on the grounds behind the massive Buddha may soon get its own day in the sun after being returned to South Korea recently after a century. 

The return of Kangetsudo, a building thought to be linked to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), was initiated by Takao Sato, chief monk of Kotoku-in temple.

IDEA FOR REPATRIATION

Born to a family that traditionally operated Kotoku-in temple, Sato had been told by his relatives that Kangetsudo, which means “hall for viewing the moon,” was originally from the Korean Peninsula.

He has long believed that the one-story wooden structure should be returned to its homeland.

His desire for the return grew stronger due to his involvement as an archaeologist in projects repatriating many cultural artifacts to their rightful owners.

“(A property) should be returned to the place where it belongs to,” said Sato, who doubles as a professor of archaeology at Keio University. “It should not be preserved in a way that is removed from its historical context.”

According to Kotoku-in, Kangetsudo, which is called Gwanwoldang in Korean, was offered to a local bank by the former Korean royal family as loan collateral during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea.

The bank gave ownership of the building to Kisei Sugino, president of what was later known as Yamaichi Securities Co., in 1924 in return for his firm’s assistance when the bank experienced financial difficulties.

The structure was transported to Japan and it is believed that Sugino donated it to the temple, which sat next to his villa, in the 1930s.

Kangetsudo--about seven meters by about five meters--is presumed to have been built to pay respects to ancestors of the Joseon Dynasty in the 18th and 19th centuries.

It features roof tiles with dragon and spider motifs as well as engraved components, a style often found in royal architecture from that period.

Tucked away at the back of the Kotoku-in grounds, the structure served as a prayer hall enshrining a statue of the Kannon deity, or Avalokitesvara.

The return effort began after Sato became the chief priest of Kotoku-in in 2002.

But there were twists and turns in the path to repatriation, given the sensitive nature of the endeavor.

PUBLIC OPPOSITION TO PLAN

Ties between the two Asian neighbors were often rocky due largely to differences in perspectives of their shared history and a long-running territorial dispute over islets in the Sea of Japan. 

The temple was forced to deal with a number of protest calls after Buddhist groups announced the repatriation plan in 2010 without having carried out careful coordination and notification.

Sato turned to a senior official with the Japanese Foreign Ministry in 2012 for guidance on making the project a success.

“Since you started the project with all good intentions, you should be mindful of the timing when you make a move,” the official said.

The official was concerned that even a well-meaning gesture like Sato's could spark an outcry among the Japanese public, given Tokyo's deteriorating ties with Seoul.

Bilateral relations hit a low point later in 2012 when South Korean President Lee Myung-bak landed on an island claimed by Japan and South Korea, angering the Japanese government and people.

Sato received few responses from South Korean government officials even though he attempted to communicate with them over the project.

While he patiently waited for the right moment, Kangetsudo’s condition deteriorated.

Some portions of the building were severely damaged. A raccoon was found to have settled in its attic.

Every time a typhoon approached, which are routine in the summer in Japan, Sato grew anxious about whether the aged structure could weather the storm.

Sato decided to do what he could on his part. He launched an investigation of Kangetsudo from around 2019 to document all its details through 3-D surveying, shooting videos and analyzing materials used, joined by South Korean experts.

He sought to make the repatriation project a joint endeavor to restore mutual trust beyond the return of the cultural property, by sharing the outcome of the investigation of the building as an intellectual property.

'LAST CHANCE'

The election in 2022 of Yoon Suk-yeol as South Korea’s president served as a spur to advance the effort. The new leader was keen to repair the troubled relations with Japan.

“This is the last chance,” Sato told himself.

The following year, he hosted a symposium where Japanese and Korean researchers shared historical documents they had collected and the investigation findings into Kangetsudo.

South Korean officials handling the return also attended the symposium.

The effort gathered momentum from that point, with the two sides coming to exchange their views at monthly online meetings.

The work to disassemble Kangetsudo got under way in June 2024 for the eventual shipment of the building components.

The return process, however, was imperiled when South Korea was thrown into turmoil after Yoon’s abrupt declaration of martial law last December.

But Sato was ready to stick it out and conveyed his determination to South Korean representatives to follow through on the project.

The shipment of the disassembled building was completed this year. The cost involved in dismantling and shipping was shouldered by Kotoku-in.

Kotoku-in and the South Korean government signed the Kangetsudo donation agreement in Seoul on June 23.

Choi Eung-chon, the administrator of the Korean Heritage Service at the time, hailed the return of the building at the signing ceremony.

“I hope that the repatriation of the property, coming at the year marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of South Korea-Japan relations, will be remembered as a symbol of cultural solidarity and future-oriented cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

The disassembled pieces are now in storage in a facility in Gyeonggi province, according to the Korean Heritage Service.

South Korean officials are considering where the building should be rebuilt.

Before Kangetsudo finds a new home, an exhibition is planned to display its principal components in Seoul by the year-end.

The completion of the transfer is not the end of Kotoku-in’s commitment.

Kotoku-in will establish a foundation to assist in financing the maintenance of the structure, contributing 100 million yen ($643,000, or 942 million won) to the fund.

“We have fulfilled the responsibility of taking care of the structure over the years,” Sato said. “I am hoping that the building will be restored to the historical significance that it deserves at a location worthy of it.”

The temple will build an archives museum on the site where Kangetsudo formerly sat, devoting a space to describe its checkered history.