Worshipers gathered on Sunday for the first summertime cleaning in three years of the Great Buddha statue in the ancient capital of Nara in western Japan.

The event at Todaiji Temple is normally undertaken annually on August 7, but has been canceled for the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The cleaning of the 15-meter-high statue is designed to refresh the Buddha's appearance ahead of the midsummer Bon festival, when people pay respects to their ancestors.

About 140 people, including priests dressed in white, gathered in front of the statue and chanted a sutra to start the event.

The participants, holding brooms and dusters, climbed onto the palms and the lap of the statue to remove the dust. They then used cloths to polish the entire figure.

Some were raised in baskets suspended from the ceiling to reach the Buddha's head and face.

Onlookers admired the work, some taking pictures.

A woman in her 40s from Yokohama said she was glad to be able to witness the first cleaning event in three years. She said she hopes the pandemic will be over soon and that people's lives will get back to normal.

The head of the temple, Hashimura Koei, said he is grateful that the temple has been able to resume the annual cleaning event.