Modern Araniko promoting art in Japan

BY HARI PRASAD KOIRALA,Urlabari, Aug. 26: In a reminder of Araniko who promoted Nepali Pagoda art in China nine centuries ago, here is a Nepali sculptor who has been carving stone images in Japan for the past seven years.

Manjul Miteri from Urlabari Municipality-6 in Morang district is a sculptor who has already spent 19 years sculpting. He has sculpted more than 2,500 small and big statues and likenesses of world-famous personalities, philosophers, scientists, writers and leaders into stones since 2004. Out of these, he has donated 100 statues for free and sold 900 others. He is currently working as a sculptor in Japan.

Nearly two decades ago, Miteri had announced to gift 1,000 statues to Nepal. He is continuously working on his promise which his life partner, Kaushila Rai, has continued to support. Carving figures out of solid rock is inherently challenging, but he remains confident that he will achieve his goals. 

Due to financial constraints, lack of social support and an inability to manage alternative expenses at home, Miteri has again repeated his commitment. He said, “I will fulfil my promise to society. The difficulty in earning a living and managing household expenses has delayed my commitment. My renewed focus is to complete the 1,000 statues for the nation after returning from Japan.”

Meanwhile, Miteri has carved a 65-foot-tall statue of Buddha in Kami-Amakusa in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu Province, Japan. After almost six years of hard-work, he completed the construction of the big Buddha statue. In this work, he had great support from sculptors Sanubhai Biswokarma from Kavre, Ramchandra Pandit from Udayapur, Ganesh Kumar Rai from Morang, Jeevan Paudel, Chaturlal Rajbangshi and Ramkumar Rai. 

Additionally, Miteri has already completed the construction of two 40-foot statues and four 20-foot ones in Japan. He informed that preparations were underway to unveil these statues in a grand ceremony in 2026 and the Japanese government was making efforts to list them as a World Heritage site.

Miteri said that he was compelled to go abroad due to lack of recognition for his art works within his own country. He said, “Although I have received several awards, including the National Youth Talent Award with Rs. 50,000 cash in 2015 and the Provincial Talent Award in 2023, I remain disheartened by the lack of value placed on my art by the nation.”

Miteri has studied up to a Master’s degree in Culture from Mahendra Morang Campus, Biratnagar.  He said, “I learned the skill of infusing art into stone and acquired a degree. There is neither respect for art in my country, nor are there jobs available according to one’s education.” 

In Japan, he works daily for eight hours, carving stone with a chisel and earns equivalent to Rs. 15,000 a day. 

Currently, Miteri is seeking the 

preservation of the statues he has created. He had initially established a museum for his work in Urlabari Bazaar near Urlabari Municipality. Since he had to go to Japan to carve the Buddha statues, his life partner, Kaushila Rai, is now overseeing the preservation of his creations. She is also a sculptor. She is currently carving a statue of Lord Shiva. 

She said, “I am also involved in fulfilling my husband’s promise. Alongside, my son, Pratik Manjul Baraili, has also been practising carving after returning from Japan.” Additionally, seven more sculptors are also working in the Manjul Murtikala Centre. 

Among the sculptures created by Miteri, the statues of the six martyrs of the Sukhani incident in Jhapa and 24 figures, including the then Minister of Forests and enviornment experts who died in a chopper accident in Ghunsa, Taplejung, are particularly noted for their impressive and attractive features. 

Although no family members showed an interest in sculpture, Miteri began sculpting statues after reading about the life of the great artist Araniko.

Having started carving stones with a chisel and hammer while living in poverty, Miteri is now 42 years old.

He concluded that without economic prosperity, it is not possible to contribute to the nation. He said, “I will come back once I can afford to buy stones and create a history by carving one statue every three days.”