Pureland altAR / 極楽浄土AR

Gokurakuji is a temple of the Jodo Shinshu Honganji school, boasting 400 years of history, located in Heisei, Ojiya City, Niigata Prefecture. In Ojiya, the population is declining, aging is advancing, and concerns such as the increase of shuttered shopping streets are rising. As people's lifestyles change, by carrying out such an initiative as a collaboration between a single temple and an artist, we consider the ripple effect of giving a temple—facing aging and a shortage of successors—an opportunity to increase its points of contact with the present age, and the significance of conveying identity while temple and culture merge with the contemporary.

We developed a "new Buddhist implement" that visualizes, through AR, the stories hidden in the information-rich designs of the main hall—such as the statue of Amida Nyorai and the dragon carvings that one cannot normally approach or touch—and, experienced together with a Dharma talk, generates dialogue between the congregation and the chief priest.

We plan to have it exist as a hook for the community and update it with the flow of the times.