Regarding the article we wrote on April 11 about the Jizo statue in Tsumon Sumie-cho near Tsumon Chuo Park disappearing, we received one solid piece of information. Here’s an update.
Here’s what has happened so far in this article.
- We wrote an article about the Jizo statue in Tsumon Sumie-cho near Tsumon Chuo Park disappearing
- We wrote that we received one solid tip saying “the Jizo statue is lying there”
- Detective Yasushi Ishida from Tantei! Knight Scoop called Nishi2
目次
A Request for Miyacco Detectives
This reader request came from peke.
I always enjoy reading your site. My name is peke.
As of 2024/4/5, the Jizo statue that had been along the river in Tsumon Sumie-cho is gone.
It was along the river by the triangular park west of Tsumon Chuo Park.
It had been sitting there wearing red clothing.
When I passed by on 4/4,
it looked like this, with only the base and the staff (?) it had been holding left behind…
Judging from the situation, it doesn’t seem likely that it was removed peacefully. I wonder if someone broke it or took it away.
I looked into the nearby river thinking it might have been thrown in, but I couldn’t find it.
This might possibly be something for the police, but for now I thought I’d reach out to Nishi2.
The local people loved this Jizo statue, changing its clothes with the seasons and offering flowers, so this is truly sad.
I would really appreciate it if you could look into it.
Here’s the location on the map↓
The address is around 10 Tsumon Sumie-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
We Went to Take a Look (4/6)
There’s a bridge called Yomibashi. The place you can see over there is Tsumon Chuo Park.
In a panorama shot, it’s around here. People in the neighborhood may recognize it right away.
Looking from this Yomibashi bridge, the Jizo statue had been on the left side.
This is the spot. There are offerings too.
As we were told, the staff remains, but the Jizo statue is gone.
We don’t know exactly how the Jizo statue had been attached, but given the location, it seems unlikely that it was hit by a car or anything like that.
This is directly behind where the Jizo statue was. There’s something like a stone lying in the middle,
but we couldn’t tell whether it belonged to the Jizo statue.
The river water is murky, but if you look closely, you can see all the way to the bottom. We didn’t see anything that looked like a Jizo statue. We may have missed it, though…
When we asked Nishinomiya Police Station, they told us, “As of now, there have been no damage reports or calls.” Well, there probably isn’t really an owner of the Jizo statue, so it seems unlikely anyone would file a damage report. We only provided them with information about what had happened.
Location: Along the Rokutanji River in Tsumon Sumie-cho
Details: The Jizo statue is gone
Apparently the Jizo Statue Is in the River (4/12)
On 4/12, we received one solid tip!
I read your article about the Jizo statue by the Tsumon River.
The day after that recent day when heavy rain and strong winds were raging, I passed by that road and it was gone.
The next day, when the river water had gone down, I looked at the riverbed and saw the Jizo statue wearing a red bib in the river!
I thought maybe it had broken off and fallen because of the strong wind, but when I went to check again just now, there’s a bit of distance between the place where it had been sitting and the river, so I also wondered if someone might have pushed it in as a prank.
Since about a week has passed since then, the Jizo statue has become pretty buried in sand, and it now feels hard to confirm visually.
So apparently, it had fallen into the river.
As you can see, the bottom is hard to make out, and we couldn’t see it when we were taking photos either.
Maybe it might get carried away a little. No, since it withstood even that rain, it should still be at the site.
Apparently It Costs Money to Rescue It (4/15)
What should be done about the Jizo statue…? In times like this, the fire department? No, it isn’t a person or an animal, so maybe not.
After looking online a bit,
Quoted from 河川に関する相談先を教えてください。（FAQ）｜西宮市総合コールセンター
I see. The river is under the jurisdiction of Hyogo Prefecture’s Amagasaki Port Management Office.
So we contacted the Amagasaki Port Management Office.
Here’s a summary of their response↓
- The fact that the Jizo statue is in the river itself is not a problem as long as it is not causing any particular obstruction (meaning they cannot take action)
- Rescuing it would require a request from the person or group managing the Jizo statue
- The rescue work would involve costs, and those costs would need to be covered
In short, if there is no major obstruction in the river, they basically cannot do anything. We also asked about the cost, but they said it’s impossible to estimate under the current circumstances.
At the very least, this area of the Higashi River apparently has sludge built up on the bottom, and it is fairly deep, so it seems quite dangerous.
That’s the result of our investigation.
It doesn’t seem like there is any particular manager for the Jizo statue, and if costs also need to be covered, this may be pretty difficult.
(Photo: Atsuro Kuroki)
This is a photo of the Jizo statue from before. We hope it can come back again.
