Yesterday, on the way down from Daimonji-yama, I discovered an incredible piece of street art at the foot of a utility pole on a narrow street. At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than a bunch of trash. But, a closer inspection revealed a strange order to the scene. Indeed, as I studied it, I realized that I was looking at nothing less than a shrine to an unknown bowler. I thought for a moment it might have been the scene of an accident. But, since cars cannot go more than a few km per hour at this corner, I don't think this was the case. More likely, some frustrated bowler dumped all his bowling paraphenalia here after a disheartening series of gutter balls and a passing artist arranged the pieces into the shrine you see before you. Or, maybe a local artist gathered the pieces and brought them to the site specifically to create this sportive religious monument. Whatever the case, it is, to my mind, a brilliant creation. It actually follows the standard design of the altars in Buddhist temples, with objects placed on the side of an inner sanctum (in this case, the bowling ball itself). Anonymous artist, if you are reading this, my hat is off to you: you rolled a strike with this one.
Here's a close-up of The Shrine of the Unknown Bowler. Note the candle and the clever way the bowling trophies, bowling shoes and bowling bag draw the eye into the inner sanctum of the shrine itself: the sacred orb of the bowling ball (calling to mind, of course, the character of Jesus in The Big Lebowski).
Behold the Unknown Bowler:
