萬松寺納骨堂水晶殿

Bansho-ji Temple, in Osu in the heart of Nagoya, is a samurai temple with an ancient and honorable origin and connections to the Japanese military leaders Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. It played an important role in Japanese history and has continued to grow into what is now a widely familiar temple. And now in response to the needs of the present day, a new ossuary project has been completed. Crystals are thought to represent “purification, good fortune, and charms to ward off evil spirits,” and the Bansho-ji Temple Ossuary Crystal Palace was born out of a concept with a crystal appearance.

The ossuary entrance has a jintengai canopy with countless crystals hanging down from its entire surface to form an image of a Heavenly River. The glass on the surface of the walls on both sides of the entrance, with stainless steel hanging down, gives the impression that you are breaking through the light above on a Waterfall of Light. You can enter the ossuary’s main hall by passing through this Waterfall of Light. From the moment you step foot into the main hall, you will momentarily lose yourself in wonder at the impressive and colorful space that is quite aptly named the Crystal Palace. Each of the 3,000 drawers shaped with 35-millimeter thick pieces of glass in the walls has LEDs installed inside of them, the light from which can be controlled with an IC card. The performance of sound and light that seems to have a life of its own soothes the minds of those present. And as a place to connect the generations of today with those of tomorrow, you will have felt not only the beauty, but also a new spatial energy that you have never before experienced. You will be able to think of it as a place where you seem to feel your very own existence rather than form and style. We believe that this distinguished ossuary with the latest facilities, the likes of which has never been seen before, will play an important role in society.

Masuo Fujimura, Fujimura Design Studio