Find Buddhist Spots
A connection with a Buddha image may appear unexpectedly. Search for places that may lead you to your own My Buddha.
Shorinzan Darumaji Temple
Buddhist Image Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
群馬県高崎市鼻高町296
Visiting Status Open for worship at the Kannon Hall in the temple grounds (temple office and amulet counter 9:00–17:00)
GentlenessWarmthStillness
The Eleven-Faced Kanzeon Bodhisattva enshrined in the Kannon Hall of Shorinzan Darumaji was created in 1909 by Chigira Hokkyō Yūkei, a master Buddhist sculptor from nearby Itahana. Kannon devotion at the site predates the temple's foundation: tradition says that a Kannon Hall once stood where the Hōjō Pond is now, enshrining an Eleven-Faced Kanzeon Bodhisattva attributed to Gyoki. The Kannon Hall is the oldest thatched-roof building in the precincts, and the image is worshipped for protection from misfortune, safe childbirth, and good relationships. The official site identifies the Kannon Hall within the grounds, while the temple office and amulet counter are open 9:00–17:00. The image offers a direct connection to the Kannon devotion at the roots of this temple, now widely known for its lucky daruma.
Seiryuzan Kichijo-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Shaka Nyorai (central image of the Shaka Triad) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
群馬県利根郡川場村門前860
Visiting Status Open to the public during visiting hours (9:00–17:00, last admission 16:30; Shaka Hall closes at 16:30)
RefinementStillnessNobility
The principal wooden seated Shaka Nyorai enshrined in the Shaka Hall of Seiryuzan Kichijo-ji is a joined-block wooden image measuring three shaku, four sun and four bu in height. Made of hinoki, it sits cross-legged on a lotus pedestal with the meditation mudra; its narrow eyes, oval head and broad drapery folds show characteristics of the late Kamakura period. The temple states that it was probably made in Kyoto or Nara, and it is designated an Important Cultural Property of Gunma Prefecture. Edo-period Monju and Fugen Bodhisattvas flank it to form a Shaka Triad. Shaka Hall is included in the regular visitor route, allowing the image to be worshipped together with the grounds of this well-known flower temple.
Akaiwasan Koonji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Amida Triad (Amida Nyorai, Kannon Bosatsu and Seishi Bosatsu) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
群馬県邑楽郡千代田町大字赤岩1041
Visiting Status Advance reservation required (call ahead for interior viewing; visiting hours 9:00–16:30)
RefinementNobilityStillness
The wooden Amida Triad enshrined in the Amida Hall of Akaiwasan Koonji consists of Amida Nyorai at the center, flanked by Kannon and Seishi Bodhisattvas, and is designated an Important Cultural Property of Gunma Prefecture. Chiyoda Town describes it as a representative work of the early Kamakura period, noting the Jocho style in the Amida image and Song-dynasty influence in the two attendant figures. The temple dates the central image from the late Heian to early Kamakura period and also preserves the traditional epithet “Doyama Yakedashi no Mida.” The triad was designated by the prefecture on September 20, 1977. Interior viewing requires advance application by telephone; visiting hours are 9:00–16:30.
Daisho Gokokuji Temple
Buddhist Image Principal Fudo Myo-o (donated by Keishoin) Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
群馬県高崎市八幡町675
Visiting Status Open to the public inside the hall on visiting days (Fri, Sat, Sun and public holidays, 10:00–16:00; check the official schedule for the year-end/New Year period)
PowerDignitySolemnity
The principal Fudo Myoo of Daisho Gokokuji Temple was donated by Keishoin, mother of the fifth Tokugawa shogun Tsunayoshi. During restoration, an ink inscription inside the image stating that it had been donated by Keishoin revealed its provenance. The temple is also carrying out the “Reiwa Great Restoration” of 41 images donated by Keishoin—the Five Great Wisdom Kings and the Thirty-Six Attendant Boys of Fudo—and restored images can be viewed in the main hall. At this temple with more than 800 years of history, visitors can encounter the principal image together with several restored Buddhist statues. Visiting days are Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 16:00, with free admission.
Wakiyasan Shoboji Temple
Buddhist Image Nio Guardians (Kongorikishi, Agyo and Ungyo) Category Tenbu (Deva)
群馬県太田市脇屋町甲562
Visiting Status Open for worship at the Niomon Gate (the two figures stand on either side of the lower front level of the gate)
PowerDignityTense Presence
The Niomon Gate of Wakiyasan Shoboji houses a pair of Nio guardians (Kongorikishi), Agyo and Ungyo. Each is a painted wooden statue about 2.6 meters tall, standing on either side of the temple gate as protectors of the Buddhist Dharma. During dismantling and repair work in 1988, inscriptions on the backs of their faces confirmed that they were made in 1685 by Koyu, a Kyoto master Buddhist sculptor known as Sakyo Nyudo and granted the Hogen rank. The gate itself is also traditionally dated to 1685 and is among the older Niomon gates in the eastern Gunma area. Because the statues stand on either side of the lower front level of the gate, visitors can view them directly while visiting the temple grounds. The gate and Nio statues are designated Important Cultural Properties of Ota City.
Seki Cliff-Carved Buddhas
Buddhist Image Amida Triad (Amida Nyorai, Kannon Bosatsu, Seishi Bosatsu) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
群馬県桐生市新里町関67-1
Visiting Status Open for viewing and worship at all times (no parking or toilets)
StillnessDepthMystery
The Seki Cliff-Carved Buddhas in Niisato, Kiryu, are an Amida triad carved into a tuff agglomerate beside the Kaburaki River and are thought to date from around the Kamakura period. Within a boat-shaped recessed halo, Amida Nyorai stands at the center (50 cm high), flanked by Kannon Bosatsu on the right and Seishi Bosatsu on the left (30 cm each), all carved in relief. Amida has a gentle expression and stands on a lotus pedestal, while traces of crowns and joined-hand gestures remain on the attendants. The group was designated an Important Cultural Property of Gunma Prefecture in 1972. Kiryu City states that it can be viewed at any time, allowing visitors to worship the images directly at the small roadside shelter.
Donreizan Myooin Anyoji Temple
Buddhist Image One Thousand Stone Fudo Myo-o Images Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
群馬県太田市安養寺町200-1
Visiting Status Open for worship in the temple grounds (outdoors, east of the main hall)
PowerDignityMystery
The Sentai Fudo stone pagoda in the grounds of Myooin is a pyramid-shaped stone monument measuring 7.2 m on each side at the base and 6 m high. Made of Izu Komatsu stone, its 15 tiers bear relief carvings of 1,000 Fudo Myoo figures: 270 on the east side, 254 on the west, and 238 each on the south and north. Unusually for images of Fudo Myoo, they have no flaming halos, a feature thought to reflect the temple's Mikage Fudo Myoo image. A surviving contract records that in 1747 Ogawa Uhei Shigemasa commissioned the Edo stonemason Izumiya Jiroemon to build the monument. Designated an Important Cultural Property by Ota City, it stands outdoors east of the main hall, allowing visitors to worship the distinctive monument and its thousand Fudo images directly.
Nichirinji Temple
Buddhist Image Eleven-Faced Kanzeon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
群馬県前橋市日輪寺町412
Visiting Status Secret image (unveiled annually on January 11)
DepthMysteryNobility
Nichirinji Temple's wooden standing Eleven-Faced Kanzeon Bodhisattva is an Important Cultural Property of Gunma Prefecture believed to date from the late Heian period. Carved from a single block of katsura wood from the top of the head through the pedestal, it retains clear rounded-chisel marks characteristic of natabori carving. The statue measures 151.5 cm in overall height, with an image height of 128.5 cm. It is now kept in a fireproof repository behind the Kannon Hall and is normally closed to the public, but is unveiled each year on January 11. This ancient image has long been an object of local Kannon devotion.
Shorenji Temple
Buddhist Image Gilt-Bronze Standing Amida Nyorai and Two Attendants Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
群馬県桐生市西久方町1丁目10-11
Visiting Status Secret image (unveiled annually on the middle day of the autumn Higan period, 10:00–15:00)
RefinementNobilitySolemnity
Shorenji Temple's principal image, the Gilt-Bronze Standing Amida Nyorai and Two Attendants, is a Zenkōji-style Amida triad thought to have been made in the mid-to-late 13th century during the Kamakura period and is designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. The central Amida Nyorai measures 44.6 cm high, with Seishi Bosatsu at 33.3 cm and Kannon Bosatsu at 33.2 cm; all three are cast bronze with gilding. Their separately cast components, precise assembly, and delicate treatment of thin robes demonstrate the high level of casting technique of the period. Normally kept as a secret image, the triad is unveiled every year on the middle day of the autumn Higan period from 10:00 to 15:00, when anyone may worship it free of charge.
Kurotakisan Fudoji Temple
Buddhist Image Fudo Myo-o Statue Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
群馬県甘楽郡南牧村大塩沢1267-1
Visiting Status Open for worship during visiting hours (8:00–16:00)
PowerMysteryTense Presence
Kurotakisan Fudoji is a mountain-faith temple on 870-meter Mount Kurotaki. Temple tradition says it began about 1,300 years ago when Gyoki enshrined a Fudo Myoo that he had carved himself, and that the temple was revived in 1675 by the Zen master Choon Dokai. At Ryujin Waterfall, which descends from the rock wall behind the Fudo Hall, a Fudo Myoo statue stands amid the falling spray and can be worshipped at close range. Separate from the temple's secret principal image, this outdoor Fudo offers a direct encounter with the deity in a setting where rugged cliffs and flowing water embody the character of a mountain ascetic sanctuary. Nammoku Village lists visiting hours as 8:00–16:00.
Shinpukuzan Horinji Temple
Buddhist Image Horinji Obaku Buddhist Sculpture Group (Seated Shaka Nyorai and seven other images) Category Tathagata / Bodhisattva / Deva / Other
群馬県邑楽郡千代田町新福寺705
Visiting Status Open to the public during visiting hours (8:00–17:00)
DignitySolemnityDepth
Shinpukuzan Horinji preserves a group of eight Obaku Buddhist sculptures: a seated Shaka Nyorai, standing Ananda and Mahakasyapa, Kinnara-o Bosatsu, standing Idaten, a Garanjin image, the head of Bodhidharma, and a seated Miroku Bosatsu. The group was designated an Important Cultural Property of Gunma Prefecture on March 18, 2022. The Shaka Nyorai was made in 1697 by Korin, the third son of Koyu. The other seven images came from the former Kosaiji Temple and date from around 1671 to 1678; most are attributed to Koyu, a master Buddhist sculptor of Kyoto's Shichijo workshop. After Kosaiji was abolished, the sculptures were transferred to Horinji. Reflecting Ming-dynasty Chinese Buddhist sculptural styles characteristic of early Obaku Buddhism, they can still be worshipped in the Main Hall. Visiting hours are 8:00–17:00.
Takanawa Cliff-Carved Buddhas
Buddhist Image Amida Triad (Amida Nyorai, Kannon Bosatsu, Seishi Bosatsu) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
群馬県桐生市新里町山上1443-1
Visiting Status Open for viewing and worship at all times (no parking or toilets)
StillnessDepthMystery
The Takanawa Cliff-Carved Buddhas in Yamakami, Niisato, Kiryu, are thought to date from around the Kamakura period and are carved into a massive block of tuff agglomerate formed by volcanic activity at Mount Akagi. On the south face of the rock, about 4 m high and 8 m east to west, an Amida Triad is carved in relief, with Amida Nyorai at the center (65 cm high) and two attendants about 50 cm high on either side. Below them remain four more heavily weathered Buddhist figures. The three upper figures are carved separately, and a hole at the upper left of the rock is traditionally said to have held sutras. Designated an Important Cultural Property of Kiryu City, the site is officially open for viewing at all times and offers a direct encounter with medieval Amida devotion centered on the natural rock of the Akagi foothills.
Asabara One Hundred Kannon
Buddhist Image One Hundred Kannon (Saigoku 33, Bando 33 and Chichibu 34 Pilgrimage Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
群馬県みどり市大間々町浅原乙637
Visiting Status Open for viewing and worship (outdoor stone images)
WarmthStillnessDepth
The Asabara One Hundred Kannon in Omama, Midori, is a group of 100 stone Kannon images created from 1839 to 1841. They bring together the principal images of the 33 Saigoku, 33 Bando and 34 Chichibu Kannon pilgrimage temples in one place. Led by petitioner Shinjiro Hoshino, 108 people contributed to their construction, and stonemason Naokichi Mitsuchika Toyama of Onakata Village in Hitachi Province lived in Asabara while carving them over three years. The group includes varied forms such as Sho Kannon, Thousand-Armed Kannon, Eleven-Faced Kannon, Nyoirin Kannon, Bato Kannon and Juntei Kannon, and changes in their forms reveal how the sculptor studied and refined his representations as the work progressed. Designated a Historic Site by Midori City, the outdoor group allows visitors to make a devotional circuit of all one hundred Kannon images on site.
Iwa Kannon (Endo Iwa Kannon)
Buddhist Image Thirty-Three Kannon and Benzaiten Category Bodhisattva / Deva
群馬県利根郡川場村谷地地区
Visiting Status Open for viewing and worship (wildlife electric fence present; visitors may remove it to enter)
MysteryDepthStillness
Iwa Kannon, also known as Endo Iwa Kannon, is a group of cliff-carved Buddhist images consisting of 33 Kannon figures and one Benzaiten carved into a rock face about 25 meters high. The official Kawaba Village tourism guide says that villagers carved the Kannon images in the mid-Edo period to pray for the village's peace and prosperity. The figures are said to have originally been painted, and traces of red and green pigment still remain today. Designated an Important Cultural Property by Kawaba Village, the site allows visitors to worship the Kannon images directly across the distinctive rock face. A wildlife electric fence is installed, but the official guide states that visitors may remove it to enter, and parking for several cars is available.
Kawagoe Daishi Kitain Temple
Buddhist Image Five Hundred Arhats Category Other
埼玉県川越市小仙波町1-20-1
Visiting Status Open to the public during viewing hours (admission fee required. Mar 1–Nov 23: weekdays 9:00–16:30, Sundays/holidays 9:00–16:50; Nov 24–end of Feb: weekdays 9:00–16:00, Sundays/holidays 9:00–16:20. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. Closed Dec 25–Jan 8, afternoon of Feb 2 and Feb 3, and Apr 2–4. Viewing may also be suspended for temple events.)
WarmthDepthMystery
Kitain's Five Hundred Arhats are counted among Japan's three great groups of arhat statues. Their creation began through the vow of Shijo of Kitajima in Kawagoe, and the statues were produced over roughly fifty years, from 1782 to 1825. The ensemble consists of 533 arhats, including the Ten Great Disciples and Sixteen Arhats, together with Shakyamuni Buddha, Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas, Amida Buddha and Jizo Bodhisattva, for a total of 538 statues. Each figure has an individual expression and pose—laughing, crying or conversing—making the group especially rewarding to observe. The site is designated a Historic Site by Kawagoe City and can be visited as part of Kitain's regular public viewing route.
Kokosan Kinsho-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Stone Buddhist Statues (1,319 figures, including the Child-Rearing Kannon) Category Bodhisattva / Other
埼玉県秩父市山田1803
Visiting Status Open to general worship (stone statues on the temple grounds and the Child-Rearing Kannon beside the Kannon Hall. Chichibu pilgrimage stamp office hours: Mar–Oct 8:00–17:00, Nov–Feb 8:00–16:00, lunch break 12:00–12:30; open year-round)
WarmthGentlenessDepth
Kinsho-ji, Temple No. 4 of the Chichibu Thirty-Four Kannon Pilgrimage, is known as the “temple of stone Buddhas,” with 1,319 stone images throughout its grounds. The group was initiated by the monk Kosen Togaku to memorialize those who died in the great famine that began in 1783 and related hardships; tradition says there were once about 3,800 statues. Beside the Kannon Hall is the Child-Rearing Kannon, also called the Motherly Kannon, depicting a mother about to nurse an infant on her lap. Its donor, Yoshinoya Hanzaemon, is said to have commissioned the image after losing both the child he believed had been granted through the principal Kannon's blessing and his wife, having an ukiyo-e artist depict the mother and child as they had appeared in life. Visitors can encounter the many stone images and the gentle Child-Rearing Kannon at close range during an ordinary visit.
Joshin-in Hyakutai Kannon Hall (Sazaedo)
Buddhist Image One Hundred Kannon (34 Chichibu, 33 Bando and 33 Saigoku Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
埼玉県本庄市児玉町小平661-2
Visiting Status Hall open to general visitors (10:00–16:00; closed Thursdays; admission ¥300. Reception at the Honjo City Tourism and Agriculture Center)
MysterySolemnityDepth
Joshin-in's Hyakutai Kannon Hall was built in 1795 to memorialize the victims of the great 1783 eruption of Mount Asama. It burned down in 1888 and was rebuilt in 1909. The exterior has two stories, while the interior has three levels arranged as a spiral gallery designed for clockwise circumambulation, following the Buddhist practice of circling a sacred object three times to the right. The first level enshrines the 34 Kannon of the Chichibu pilgrimage, the second the 33 of the Bando pilgrimage, and the third the 33 of the Saigoku pilgrimage, totaling 100 Kannon images. Three Muromachi-period Buddhas—Amida, Shakyamuni and Yakushi—have also been moved into the hall. Known as one of Japan's three great Sazaedo halls, it allows visitors to complete a devotional circuit of one hundred Kannon within a single building.
Hakuunsan Torii Kannon
Buddhist Image Guze Dai-Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
埼玉県飯能市上名栗3198
Visiting Status Interior of the statue open to visitors (from the first Saturday in April through the last Sunday in November, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only, 9:00–15:00; admission: adults ¥200, children ¥100. Closed Dec–Mar; advance consultation required for visits during the closed period. Separate mountain entry fee applies.)
SolemnityDignityMystery
The Guze Dai-Kannon standing at the summit of Torii Kannon was completed in 1971. The central Kannon figure is 23 m high, as are the flanking Brahma and Indra figures; together with the 10 m base, the structure reaches 33 m. Inside are numerous Buddhist images, including an Amida Buddha, as well as ten thousand 33 cm Kannon figures dedicated with prayers for perpetual memorial rites. The architecture combines Japanese temple design with motifs from India and the Middle East, and the interior features wall carvings and stained glass. A viewing platform 27 m above the ground offers views over the Oku-Musashi mountains. Except during winter closure, the interior is open to general visitors on weekends and public holidays, making this monumental Kannon the symbol of Torii Kannon.
Kannon-in Temple (Chichibu Pilgrimage No. 31)
Buddhist Image Stone Nio Guardians and Cliff-Carved Buddhas (Thousand Buddhas) Category Deva / Other
埼玉県秩父郡小鹿野町飯田観音2211
Visiting Status Open to general worship (296 stone steps from the Nio Gate to the Kannon Hall. Chichibu pilgrimage stamp office hours: Mar–Oct 8:00–17:00, Nov–Feb 8:00–16:00, lunch break 12:00–12:30; open year-round)
PowerMysteryDepth
Kannon-in, Temple No. 31 of the Chichibu pilgrimage, is a mountain temple renowned for its stone Buddhist images. At the gate stand massive stone Nio guardians about 3 m high, carved from local Iwadonosawa stone; Saitama Prefecture describes them as Japan's largest Nio statues carved from single blocks of stone. After climbing 296 stone steps, visitors reach the Kannon Hall, where the adjoining cliff bears a prefecturally designated group of cliff-carved Buddhas: a dense array of a thousand small images also known by the traditional name “fingernail-carved Buddhas.” More stone images appear in caves on the route toward the inner sanctuary, and tradition holds that the mountain contains 108,000 stone Buddhas in all. The visit offers a striking progression from monumental guardian figures to minute cliff carvings.
Iwatsuki Daishi Mirokumitsu-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Principal Deities of the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage and Kobo Daishi Images Category Tathagata / Bodhisattva / Wisdom King / Deva / Other
埼玉県さいたま市岩槻区本町2-7-35
Visiting Status Underground hall open to general visitors (temple viewing hours 9:00–17:00; underground osunafumi pilgrimage until 16:30; admission fee applies)
MysteryStillnessDepth
Iwatsuki Daishi Mirokumitsu-ji is an old temple of the Chisan school of Shingon Buddhism, traditionally said to have been founded in 774. Its underground Buddhist hall enshrines the principal deities of the eighty-eight temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage together with Kobo Daishi, and preserves sand brought from each pilgrimage temple. Buddhist images line the underground route, where visitors can perform an osunafumi pilgrimage by stepping on the sand associated with each sacred site as they make the circuit. About a ten-minute walk from Iwatsuki Station, the hall offers an accessible way to encounter the devotional world of the Shikoku pilgrimage. Moving through the dim underground passage and worshipping the many images in sequence is itself the distinctive experience of this site.