A statue of Buddha from the Goryeo Dynasty that was returned by a court order to Japan after being smuggled into South Korea 13 years ago arrived on the Japanese island of Tsushima early Monday.

According to Japan's Kyodo News and Jiji Press, the island's Kannonji temple held a Buddhist ceremony to mark the statue's return.

Setsuryo Tanaka, head of the temple, said while it has taken a long time for the statue to return, he positively considers exchanges with Buseoksa Temple in Seosan, South Korea with which the Kannonji had engaged in a legal battle over the ownership.

Tsushima Museum, the statue's new home, is set to hold a special exhibition for one month.

Assumed to have been looted by the Japanese pirates centuries ago, the statue is one of two Buddha statues stolen from the island and smuggled into South Korea by a group of thieves in 2012. One of the two statues was returned to Japan three years later.

Following a long legal battle, the South Korean Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of the Japanese side in October 2023, citing the legal principle of acquisitive prescription.