Well, the five Kannon were returned to the master’s possession, and I was relieved along with the master, saying, “Well, that’s good.
However, a hope arose in my heart. A few days later, I went to my master and expressed this hope. Master, will you give me one of the five Kannon bodies? I would like to worship it as my guardian deity for the rest of my life.

If you give it to me, I will pay you the price you have asked for it.　I said boldly.　My eagerness to do so was no different from the grief, nostalgia, and regret I felt when I first heard that Kannon was to be reduced to ashes.　When I was asked to do this, Master seemed somewhat reluctant to let go of the five bodies, but he was well aware that I had taken the initiative in this case. She said, “I see. I can give you that. But what on earth do you want?　The master picked up one of the finely carved pieces of gold and asked, “Do you want this one? Do you want this one? Do you want this? No, that is not what I am asking for. It is this.　What I selected was the work of Zen master Shoun Wonkei. I said, “I see. You want it? Then I will give it to you. If you want to keep it for the rest of your life, please visit …….” The master gladly accepted my contract.　The master gladly accepted my request. I was so happy when I paid him in cash for a minute or two.　My heart leapt with joy at the thought that this Kannon, the work of Zen master Wonkei, was now in my possession.

I joyfully took it home with me.　Then, I placed the right Kannon and sat quietly in front of it. Then I worshipped. The statue, which I had not forgotten after seeing it for many years, was as fine as ever.　However, when I thought of the great suffering I was about to experience because of the gold on the statue, I was concerned about the gold leaf, so I decided that it would be better to remove the gold from the wood. Then, all the lacquer fell off and the glued joints fell apart, so I carefully put them back together again and left the appearance of the wood as it was. I carefully put the pieces back together and restored the original appearance of the wood to its original state. I then dedicated it as my guardian deity, and to this day, I continue to carry it with me.　I have been indebted to Kannon in many ways since I was born, but I saved this Kannon from a dangerous situation. I believe that this is also a result of some kind of Buddhist karma.　As for what happened to the four Kannon that belonged to the master, one went to Iseya Shirozaemon’s house in Asakusa (now the Aoji clan, after the old Fudasaya), and one went to Ikeki in Shinkawa, a famous sake wholesaler at that time. The other went to Hikotaro Owari in Yoshiwara.

I don’t remember where the other one went.　The Kannon that had been returned to my master’s hands was soon in the hands of others and was scattered to pieces, but the work of Zen master Shoun Genkei, whose work I still cherish and worship, was the result of my initial intention to save it from being burnt to ashes. I feel a deep sense of strangeness.　Although this Zen master’s work dates from the Tokugawa period, it is a work that I am not ashamed to say. Zenji was originally a Buddhist priest, so he was highly skilled in the art.