Parts Memorial Temple Prays for Healthy Walking with Leftover Screws

The 'Parts Temple', which holds memorial services for leftover DIY screws and nuts, grants pedometer stickers to visitors and prays for their walking success. The head priest says 'The enlightenment of junk and improving leg strength go hand in hand', while bells made from collected parts ring throughout the temple grounds.

2025-07-26

Translations: JA

Daily Surprise

The “Parts Memorial Temple”, which holds memorial services for leftover DIY screws and nuts, grants pedometer stickers to visitors and prays for their walking success. The head priest says “The enlightenment of junk and improving leg strength go hand in hand”, while bells made from collected parts ring throughout the temple grounds.

Upon entering the temple grounds, the scent of incense mingles with a subtle whiff of evaporating oil - this peculiar atmosphere is created by the “Parts Memorial Temple” established in Hasuda City, Saitama Prefecture. According to the first head priest, Taishi Rokkaku, “Even screws discarded for wrong dimensions have past lives.” On the tenth, the temple’s opening day, worshippers formed long queues carrying shopping bags full of surplus metal. They line up not just for “memorial services” but also for “steps.”

The temple features an 808-step “Junk Pilgrimage Path.” The trail, embedded with washers instead of paving stones, promises that three clockwise circuits will simultaneously ease both back pain and guilt. The path creates “click-clack” sounds beneath pilgrims’ feet, turning their soles into impromptu maracas. A sign proudly declares, “Footsteps are sutras, recycling is merit.”

After completing one circuit, monks hand out two-centimeter diameter “pedometer stickers.” Though they appear to be simple circular stickers with QR codes, they automatically sync with smartphones’ accelerometers when applied, allowing users to dedicate their step counts to the temple. When dedicated steps exceed 10,000, the deep bass of the “Grand Crank” - a bell made of screws - reverberates from temple speakers, signifying the “enlightenment” of both walker and parts. Head Priest Rokkaku maintains a cool demeanor, saying “Muscle pain equals merit points.”

The bell is crafted from approximately three tons of screws, nuts, and L-brackets collected over six months. Rather than welding, craftsmen assembled the bell using only magnetism and delicate balance. Parts shift slightly with each strike, creating daily variations in pitch. This has spawned music aficionados who comment “Today’s bell is heavy on E♭,” turning the temple’s official SNS into a haven for acoustic enthusiasts.

The Ministry of Environment estimates that eight thousand tons of “screws stored but never used again” accumulate annually in Japan. The “Parts Memorial Temple” boasts that “saving even one percent would increase humanity’s calorie consumption by 300 million kilocalories.” Weekend average pilgrim step counts reach 9,300, exceeding municipal health center recommendations. While medical cost reductions are anticipated, nearby hardware stores express mixed feelings: “If screws don’t go to waste, our business…”

The temple plans to build a “Lumber Memorial Hall” and “Broken Heart Screw-Stop Hall” by autumn. City officials scratch their heads, wondering “Is this a temple or a recycling factory?” but Head Priest Rokkaku remains undeterred. “Removing rust from hearts is our next challenge,” he declares. Today, aged screws continue to “ching” throughout the grounds as worshippers update their step apps while rubbing their knees. Loose salvation and light muscle soreness seem to pair surprisingly well.

Stakeholder Comments

Head Priest Taishi Rokkaku: “Buddha nature exists in every screw, and calories too”
DIY Enthusiast Worshipper Amido Akira: “Laughed when I found the temple has better tools than my house”
Pedometer Sticker (personified): “Data obesity with every application, but the diet depends on your legs”
Leftover Screw (M6×25): “Finally feels like release from being tightened”
Nearby Hardware Store Owner: “Wish they’d return items before memorial services, but can’t fight religion”
Health Center Staff: “If the head priest gets a public health nurse license, everything fits the system”
Music Critic: “The atonal sound of screws would make even John Cage smile wryly”
Pilgrimage Path Washer: “True potential comes from being stepped on, but too much makes me dent”
Ministry of Environment Official: “Buddhist-circular economy fusion - recycling faster than legislation”
Walking-Averse High Schooler: “If temple walking counts for school credits, I’m in”