Timber Sled
Sleds like this were used to haul timber through snowy areas for the reconstruction of Higashi Honganji in the late nineteenth century. The diorama next to the sled depicts a tragic accident that occurred in 1883 in what is now Niigata Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan coast. A local congregation was transporting a huge tree to be donated to the reconstruction effort through a mountain pass when an avalanche struck the procession. Twenty-seven people lost their lives, mostly elderly people and children who were unable to escape.