A little after this incident, some people noticed that the statue had some mud attached to its feet. People believed that the statue had transformed into the boy and helped the farmers; the guardian deity got the mud when he was dealing with the horse. Since then, people have called it the "Hana-tori Statue" which means, "A statue that leads horses and cows by their noses". They also held an annual festival on January 10, the day when the priest received the oracle. It is said that people from all over Yamanashi came to visit the festival en masse as the rumor of the mythic statue in Tokaichi spread.