Japan's empty temples seek new ways to survive

The 370-year-old structure has all the attributes of a classically designed Japanese temple , from the curved roof to the timber-frame walls, spacious tatami-mat prayer hall and elaborately decorated altar.

Set in manicured gardens on the Chita Peninsula in central Japan , the 350-square-meter (3,767-square-foot) property is on the market for 482 million yen (€2.66 million, US3.01 million). The estate agent's pitch says the price includes dismantling by "expert heritage craftsmen" and delivery to anywhere in Japan, where it would be fully restored into a "stunning" two- or three-bedroom home.

The sale and removal of the temple marks the end of its role in the local community in the hills above the Nagasawacho district, but it is a better fate than many places of worship across Japan.

There are around 77,000 temples across the country, but as many as 17,000 no longer have a full-time resident priest as congregations have shrunk — particularly in rural districts experiencing rapid depopulation — and financial pressures have taken their toll.

That means many temples are being sold off or simply shuttered and left to deteriorate quietly.

Tomomi Iwayama took on the abandoned Ganshu-ji temple in Odawara, a coastal town about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Tokyo, a decade ago. Today, he is the abbot of a growing congregation.

"The temple had no abbot for 70 years before I arrived because it was just so difficult to operate, and it has taken me until now to get it financially back on track," he told DW.

"Even in a relatively large urban area such as Odawara, which has around 200,000 residents, it has been very hard," he said. "In the countryside, it is much more difficult."