At the Aso Shrine in Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture, which was damaged by the Kumamoto Earthquake seven years ago, a ceremony will be held to celebrate the completion of the restoration work of the "Lou Gate," which has been designated as an important cultural property of Japan and has become a symbol of the shrine.
Seven years ago, the Kumamoto Earthquake caused major damage to the Aso Shrine in Aso City, including the collapse of the worship hall and the shrine's symbol, the Lou Gate, and restoration work has been ongoing.
Since the "Loumon" is designated as an important cultural property of Japan, it was necessary to use as much of the original timber as possible during the construction, and the demolition work alone took about one year to recover more than 7,1 pieces of lumber.
After that, about 7% of the recovered original timber was reused, such as repairing the recovered timber, splicing it with new lumber, and reinforcing it with a sturdy material that is also used for bulletproof vests to improve earthquake resistance.
The restoration work, which lasted more than seven years, ended earlier this month, and a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the project is scheduled at the shrine at 7 a.m. on the 7th.
In the afternoon, the Shinto ceremony of "Beginning of Prayer" will be held, and it will be possible to pass through the tower gate for the first time in about 11 years and 7 months since the earthquake.