Find Buddhist Spots
A connection with a Buddha image may appear unexpectedly. Search for places that may lead you to your own My Buddha.
Miroku-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Miroku Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Hidden image (opened once every 33 years; next opening planned for 2031)
GentlenessNobilityMystery
Miroku-ji Temple in Kaminuma, Nakada, Tome City, preserves this Wooden Seated Miroku Nyorai as its principal image. Made of hinoki cypress using joined-block construction, it stands 83.6 cm high and dates to the Kamakura period. Its gentle facial expression, especially the refined profile, is distinctive, while the large spiral curls of hair show the influence of Song-dynasty sculpture. Tradition attributes the work to the Nara school of Buddhist sculptors represented by Unkei and Tankei, and it has long attracted devotion from people praying for abundant harvests. Designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture, the image is still deeply revered at Miroku-ji as “Omiroku-sama.” It is a hidden principal image shown only once every 33 years, with the next opening planned for 2031.
Jūhachiya Kannon Hall (Jōzō-in Kannon Hall)
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Bosatsu (Jūhachiya Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Normally closed to the public (opened once every three years during the May 3 festival; most recently opened on May 3, 2026)
MysteryNobilityDepth
Jūhachiya Kannon Hall in Nagamachi, Taihaku Ward, Sendai, preserves this Wooden Standing Bodhisattva as its principal image. Carved from a single piece of kaya wood, it stands 138.5 cm high and is thought to date from the late 8th to early 9th century, spanning the end of the Nara period and the beginning of the Heian period. Its narrow abdomen, high-waisted proportions, and gently S-shaped stance with the chin and shoulders drawn back preserve an early style of wooden Buddhist sculpture, and it is regarded as the oldest surviving wooden Buddhist image in the Tohoku region. The precise identity of the figure is unknown, but locally it has long been revered as Kannon and affectionately called “Okannon-sama,” serving as the principal image of the 32nd temple of the Sendai Thirty-Three Kannon pilgrimage. The original image is normally deposited at the Sendai City Museum and returns to Jūhachiya Kannon Hall once every three years for the May 3 unveiling ceremony.
Kōsen-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai (Komatsu Nyorai) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Normally closed to the public (opened each year at the Komatsu Amida Nyorai Festival on Sports Day; in 2026, on October 12)
WarmthPeacefulnessDepth
Kōsen-ji Temple in Nagafukuro, Akiu, Taihaku Ward, Sendai, preserves an Amida Nyorai known as “Komatsu Nyorai” or “Komatsu Amida Nyorai.” Tradition holds that it was the personal protective image of Taira no Shigemori, eldest son of Taira no Kiyomori. The temple’s origin is linked to a family said to have fled to this area after the fall of the Taira clan, enshrining the Amida image and praying for the repose of the clan. The image continues to attract local devotion today. Each year on Sports Day, the Komatsu Amida Nyorai Festival is held and the principal image is opened to the public. The festival also includes a performance of the Nagafukuro Taue Odori, one of the Akiu rice-planting dances designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan.
Amida-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Advance confirmation required (contact the temple regarding viewing the principal image itself)
RefinementNobilityStillness
The Wooden Standing Amida Nyorai is enshrined as the principal image of Amida-ji Temple in Shintera, Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai. Made of hinoki cypress using joined-block construction, the 78.3 cm statue dates to the Kamakura period. It is characterized by an intelligent, taut expression, a relaxed body, and simply arranged drapery. The Y-shaped folds emphasizing the thighs in particular show the influence of the Kaikei school. A Sendai City temple guide introduces the image as bearing an inscription dated 1221. Designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture, it continues to be venerated as the principal image of Amida-ji, a temple associated with Ippen, founder of the Ji sect.
Sōrin-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Statues of the Two Heavenly Kings (Jikokuten and Zōchōten) Category Tenbu (Deva)
Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Normally closed to the public (opened annually on May 8 and 9, 9:00–16:00 / last admission 15:30 / no reservation required / admission ¥300)
PowerDignityTense Presence
Sōrin-ji Temple in Tsukidate, Kurihara City, preserves a pair of wooden standing statues of the Two Heavenly Kings, Jikokuten and Zōchōten. Each was carved from a single block of keyaki wood, including the demon trampled beneath the deity’s feet. Jikokuten is shown with an open mouth in the a-gyō form, while Zōchōten bares his teeth in the un-gyō form, both powerfully crushing the demons beneath them. Tradition holds that the group originally comprised all Four Heavenly Kings, including Kōmokuten and Tamonten, but two statues were lost in a fire, leaving Jikokuten and Zōchōten. Created in the Heian period, the pair combines an archaic style with a strong sense of movement and is designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Normally closed to the public, the statues can be viewed during the temple’s annual cultural-property opening on May 8 and 9.
Enryū-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Standing Statues of the Twelve Divine Generals Category Tenbu (Deva)
Shibata Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Viewable 9:00–16:00 upon request; advance contact recommended because viewing is unavailable when the head or deputy priest is absent
PowerDignityTense Presence
Enryū-ji Temple in Irumada, Shibata Town, preserves a group of standing statues of the Twelve Divine Generals, the twelve guardian deities of Yakushi Nyorai. The polychrome figures are carved from single blocks of katsura wood and stand about 38 cm high. Though small, they are distinguished by expressions of dignity and wrath and by dynamic postures. According to Miyagi Prefecture materials, one of the Twelve Divine Generals is represented in a Niō-like form and bears an ink inscription dated 1405 on its back, making the group an important example of Buddhist sculpture by provincial sculptors in the Muromachi period. Designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture, the statues have been preserved at Enryū-ji together with the standing Yakushi Nyorai. Visitors may ask the temple to open them for viewing between 9:00 and 16:00.
Ōdakesan Kōfuku-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Eleven-Headed Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Hidden image (opened once every 33 years / next opening date to be confirmed)
MysteryStillnessDepth
The Eleven-Headed Kannon Bosatsu is enshrined as the principal image of the Kannon Hall at Ōdakesan Kōfuku-ji Temple in Minamikata, Tome City. Known locally as “Ōdake no Kannon-san,” it has long been revered as the 10th temple of the Ōshū Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. Temple tradition holds that Sakanoue no Tamuramaro built the Kannon Hall to pray for those who died during his campaign against the Emishi. The inner sanctuary bears the Date family’s “bamboo and sparrows” crest, and the hidden Eleven-Headed Kannon is enshrined at the rear. The principal image is opened only once every 33 years. The outer walls of the hall retain colorful carvings depicting the Chinese Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety, and together with the hexagonal hall in the grounds, the temple is also known as a sightseeing site in Tome City.
Tokura-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Thousand-Armed Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Kakuda City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Advance reservation required (hall viewing 10:00–15:00 / ¥300 per individual / free for high school students and younger)
SolemnityPowerMystery
A wooden standing Thousand-Armed Kannon is enshrined in the Kannon Hall of Tokura-ji Temple at the summit of Mount Tokura in southwestern Kakuda City. Tokura-ji is the fourth temple of the Ōshū Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage and is traditionally said to have begun when Sakanoue no Tamuramaro enshrined a Thousand-Armed Kannon here in 807. Along with the city-designated wooden Kannon, the hall contains the Twenty-Eight Attendants and the deities of thunder and wind, creating a distinctive space where mountain worship and Kannon devotion overlap. The temple also preserves a separate hidden bronze kakebotoke of Thousand-Armed Kannon as its principal image; this image is not open to the public. Viewing the hall, including the wooden Kannon, requires an advance reservation, and visitors walk about 400 meters along the approach from the parking area partway up the mountain.
Mount Sasakura (Mount Ōmori)
Buddhist Image Yakushi Nyorai (Iron Buddhist Image) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Taiwa Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Normally closed to the public (the summit Yakushi Hall can be visited / Taiwa Town records state that the statue itself is opened to the public once every five years; next opening to be confirmed)
MysteryPowerDepth
An iron Yakushi Nyorai is enshrined in the Yakushi Hall at the summit of Mount Sasakura, also known as Mount Ōmori, one of the Nanatsumori peaks in Taiwa Town. Tradition holds that on April 8, 1762, Yatsumaki Kagetō and his son Kagenaga, retainers of the lord of Miyadoko, carried the image on their backs to the summit and enshrined it there. Each peak of Nanatsumori has a Yakushi Nyorai, and the devotional practice known as “Nana-Yakushi-gake,” in which all are visited in a single day, continues today. Every May 8, the Ōmoriyama Yakushi Nyorai Festival is held. After prayers at the trailhead for good health and safe climbing, participants ascend to the summit to worship Yakushi Nyorai. Taiwa Town records state that the iron image itself is opened once every five years, and an opening was held during the 2018 festival.
Fukuō-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Bishamonten Triad (Bishamonten, Kisshōten, and Zennishi Dōji) Category Tenbu (Deva)
Kakuda City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Hidden images (opened in the first Year of the Tiger after a new head priest takes office)
DignityMysteryPower
The Bishamonten Triad is enshrined in the Bishamon Hall at Fukuō-ji Temple in Hatobara, Kakuda City. The central Bishamonten image stands 84.7 cm high and is flanked by Kisshōten and Zennishi Dōji, forming an unusual triad designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Kakuda City. Tradition says that in the early Edo period, Katahira Shindayū, a retainer of Date Masamune, moved to the area and enshrined the Bishamonten he had revered as his protective image. Another tradition attributes the statue to Unkei of the Kamakura period. Around Fukuō-ji, centipedes came to be regarded as messengers of Bishamonten that protected silkworm cultivation from rats, leading to the dedication of more than 20,000 centipede votive plaques. The images are hidden from public view and, according to a distinctive local custom, are opened in the first Year of the Tiger after a new head priest assumes office.
Konpō-ji Temple (Nonodake Kannon)
Buddhist Image Eleven-Headed Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Wakuya Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Hidden image (opened once every 33 years / next opening scheduled for 2041)
MysterySolemnityDepth
The Eleven-Headed Kannon Bosatsu is enshrined as the principal image of the Kannon Hall at Konpō-ji Temple on Mount Nonodake in Wakuya Town. Konpō-ji is the ninth temple of the Ōshū Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, and Nonodake Kannon is counted among the “Three Kannon of Ōshū” together with Makiyama Kannon in Ishinomaki and Tomiyama Kannon in Matsushima. Temple tradition says that Sakanoue no Tamuramaro established the site in 807, and it has long been revered as sacred ground. The principal image is a hidden Buddha opened only once every 33 years; it was last shown in 2008 and the next opening is scheduled for 2041. Medieval hand-copied sutras have been discovered inside the statue, including a scroll dated 1353.
Kannon-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Advance confirmation required (the temple can be visited / contact the temple regarding conditions for viewing the Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai itself)
GentlenessRefinementDepth
A Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai is enshrined in the Main Hall of Kannon-ji Temple in Honchō, Kesennuma City. The 41.8 cm statue is made using joined-block construction and depicts Amida coming to welcome the deceased, with both hands forming the jōbon-geshō mudra. It is a refined small image with individually carved spiral curls and a bright, gentle expression, and is thought to have been created within the cultural sphere of Hiraizumi in the late Heian period. The statue is said originally to have been associated with a Kannon hall connected to Mount Murone in Iwate Prefecture and is designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture. Kannon-ji is also known as an ancient Tendai temple that preserves an undying sacred flame and is counted among the “Three Lamps of Tōhoku” together with Chūson-ji and Risshaku-ji.
Funagatayama Shrine
Buddhist Image Gilt-Bronze Standing Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Taiwa Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Normally closed to the public (opened during the annual Bonten Bayai festival on May 1, around noon)
MysteryNobilityDepth
A gilt-bronze standing Bodhisattva has been transmitted as the sacred object of Funagatayama Shrine in Masuzawa, Yoshida, Taiwa Town. Taiwa Town introduces it as an ancient image thought to be among the oldest imported Buddhist statues in the Tōhoku region. Normally kept in a secret location, the sacred image is brought into the shrine sanctuary by a Shinto priest and opened to worshippers during the annual Bonten Bayai festival on May 1. Worshippers traditionally judge the year’s weather and crop prospects from the degree of moisture on the statue and pray for a good harvest. A Buddhist temple once served as the shrine’s bettō, and the site retains strong traces of belief from before the separation of Shinto and Buddhism. It is an unusual Buddhist spot where an ancient Buddhist image remains linked with agricultural faith today.
Yanaizu Kokūzōson
Buddhist Image Fukuchiman Kokūzō Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Hidden image (opened once every 33 years / last opened in 2016. In 2026, a newly consecrated maedachi, or front image, was specially displayed from April 12 to May 31)
MysterySolemnityDepth
Fukuchiman Kokūzō Bosatsu is enshrined as the principal image of Yanaizu Kokūzōson in Yanaizu, Tsuyama, Tome City. According to temple tradition, in 726 Gyōki carved a Kokūzō Bosatsu about one shaku two sun high while performing repeated acts of reverence with each stroke of the carving, and enshrined it with prayers for peace throughout the realm and stability of the nation. In 771, Ōtomo no Yakamochi is said to have worshipped the image and proposed that, because it was such a sacred hidden Buddha, it should be opened only once every 33 years, a custom that continues today. The 37th opening of the hidden principal image was held in 2016. Revered as a protective Buddha for people born in the Years of the Ox and Tiger, the temple is also counted among Japan’s Three Great Kokūzō sites.
Okufuku-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Bishamonten Category Tenbu (Deva)
Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Hidden image (opened on a 33-year cycle / next opening date to be confirmed)
PowerDignityMystery
A Wooden Standing Bishamonten is enshrined as the principal image of Okufuku-ji Temple in Kamimiyano, Tsukidate, Kurihara City. Carved from a single block of keyaki wood, the 111.5 cm statue dates to the Heian period. Its strongly twisted waist gives the figure a dynamic posture, and it is considered one of the oldest surviving Bishamonten images in the Tōhoku region. Although the pagoda held in its hand and the demon beneath its feet have undergone later repairs and alterations, the main body retains the powerful modeling of the Heian period. Tradition attributes the statue to Saichō, founder of the Tendai school, and it was long revered by local people as a guardian of agriculture and a deity of abundant harvests. Designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture, the image is normally kept hidden and can be viewed only during its 33-year-cycle openings.
Kesoku-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Batō Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status The Batō Kannon Hall can be visited (tourism guidance lists 9:00–17:00 / direct viewing of the principal image itself should be confirmed)
WarmthPowerDepth
Batō Kannon Bosatsu is enshrined at Kesoku-ji Temple in Yonekawa, Tōwa, Tome City. Tradition says the temple was established around the year 800 by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, and it has long attracted devotion as the 15th temple of the Ōshū Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage and one of the Seven Kannon of Ōshū. Numerous votive plaques dating from the Edo period onward have been dedicated in the Batō Kannon Hall. The deity is revered as a protector of horses and as a compassionate Kannon associated with animals. In recent years, the temple has also become familiar as a place for memorial services for pets, carrying forward a form of Kannon devotion that prays for the bond between people and animals.
Kobari Yakushi Hall
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Yakushi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Kakuda City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status The Yakushi Hall can be visited / direct viewing of the principal image itself should be confirmed
WarmthPeacefulnessDepth
A Wooden Seated Yakushi Nyorai is enshrined in the Yakushi Hall at Kobari in Inoki, Kakuda City. The joined-block statue stands about 110 cm high and dates to the middle Kamakura period. An ink inscription inside the image is dated 1254 and records the names of people thought to have been donors together with the number of times they recited the nenbutsu, making it valuable evidence of local religious practice at the time. The Yakushi Hall originally stood in rice fields to the west but was moved to its present location during the Meiji period to avoid flood damage. Designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture, the image has long been affectionately revered locally as the “Yakushi of Inoki.”
Asahiyama Kannon Hall
Buddhist Image Shō Kannon Statue Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Tourism guidance states that visits are possible at any time with no reservation required / on-site conditions should be confirmed
GentlenessPeacefulnessStillness
The Shō Kannon Statue is the principal image of Asahiyama Kannon Hall, which stands on the middle slopes of Mount Asahi in a prefectural natural park in Kitamura, Ishinomaki City. The hall was built in 1938 to pray for the repose of schoolchildren who had died and of war dead, and the Shō Kannon image was created by sculptor Kunikata Rinzō. Projecting from elevated ground, the hall is surrounded by a corridor where visitors can worship the Kannon. The image has been revered in prayers for children’s healthy growth and for the consolation of children who died young. Mount Asahi is also popular for hiking and walking, making this a Buddhist spot where natural scenery and prayer can be experienced together.
Jōkaku-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Shō Kannon Statue Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Advance confirmation required (contact the temple regarding viewing the Wooden Shō Kannon Statue itself)
RefinementNobilityStillness
Jōkaku-ji Temple in Shintera, Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai, preserves a Wooden Shō Kannon Statue dating to the Heian period. Carved from hinoki cypress and standing 165 cm high, the image has a thick neck, a taut body, large ears, and flowing drapery. An unusual detail in which part of the celestial scarf is wrapped around the wrist is among the rare sculptural features that make this an important Kannon image. It is designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture. Jōkaku-ji is also the 16th temple of the Sendai Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, carrying forward Kannon devotion in the Shintera temple district that developed in the Sendai castle town.
Ankoku-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Advance confirmation required (the temple can be visited / contact the temple regarding viewing the Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai itself)
RefinementNobilityStillness
Ankoku-ji Temple in Furukawa Kashiwazaki, Ōsaki City, preserves a Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai. The 69.7 cm statue dates to the Nanbokuchō period and is made of hinoki cypress using joined-block construction, with lacquered gilding and crystal eyes. Features such as the low ushnisha show the influence of Song-dynasty sculpture, and although the sculptor is unknown, the work is thought to have been made by an artist in the lineage of Unkei. The face retains the taut carving of the original work. Ankoku-ji is one of the temples established in provinces across Japan under Ashikaga Takauji to pray for the repose of those killed in war and for the peace of the country, and this statue has been transmitted as the principal image of the local temple. It is designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture.