Find Buddhist Spots
A connection with a Buddha image may appear unexpectedly. Search for places that may lead you to your own My Buddha.
Kanmanji Temple
Buddhist Image Kongo Rikishi (Nio Guardians) Category Tenbu (Deva)
秋田県にかほ市象潟町字象潟島2
Visiting Status Viewing available (8:00–17:00)
PowerDignityTense Presence
A pair of Kongo Rikishi statues stands in the Sanmon Gate of Kanmanji Temple. According to temple tradition, Kanmanji was founded by Jikaku Daishi Ennin in 853 and is also known as a temple visited by Matsuo Basho during his journey recorded in Oku no Hosomichi. The Edo-period gate houses a pair of Nio guardians said to have been donated by the Ikoma lords of Yashima domain. The temple remains one of Kisakata's representative historic worship sites and is open to general visitors. The grounds also preserve a monument inscribed with a Basho haiku and a stone traditionally associated with Shinran Shonin.
Juonji Temple
Buddhist Image Thirty-Three Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
秋田県北秋田市木戸石字東畑番外地
Visiting Status Viewing available (9:00–17:00)
GentlenessWarmthStillness
The Kannon Hall of Juonji Temple houses a group known as the Thirty-Three Kannon, although 34 Kannon statues are actually enshrined there. Juonji, a Soto Zen temple, is said to have been founded in 1521 and moved to its present site around 1640. The temple garden is also known for azaleas and attracts many visitors during the flowering season. The Kannon images and garden can be visited together at this temple that remains open to general worshippers.
Unganji Temple
Buddhist Image Kongo Rikishi (Nio Guardians) Category Tenbu (Deva)
秋田県仙北市角館町白岩前郷33
Visiting Status Worship available (confirm viewing hours with the temple)
PowerDignityTense Presence
A pair of Kongo Rikishi statues stands in the Sanmon Gate of Unganji Temple. They were carved by the master craftsman Takahashi Ichizo (Enmanzo), who is remembered as the composer of the Akita folk song Donpan-bushi and was nicknamed the Tohoku Hidari Jingoro. According to tradition, the temple's priest commissioned the statues after a large tree in the grounds died from a lightning strike; the two figures were carved from the upper and lower portions of the same trunk. Their powerful, dynamic forms guard the gate of what is said to be the oldest temple in the Kakunodate area. The temple also preserves the Shiraiwa-yaki Thousand Buddhas, a Tangible Cultural Property of Akita Prefecture.
Tenneiji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
秋田県仙北市角館町上新町10
Visiting Status Worship available on the temple grounds (confirm hours)
DepthStillnessSolemnity
A bronze seated Amida Nyorai stands in the grounds of Tenneiji Temple in Kakunodate. The Great Buddha was created to memorialize Ashina Chizurumaru, the young lord of Kakunodate who died in childhood, and is attributed to the caster Sato Sajibei. Chizurumaru died in an accident at Tenneiji in 1653, bringing the Ashina line to an end. Tradition holds that a kutsunugi-ishi, or stepping stone, associated with the accident was reused in the statue's pedestal. Tenneiji is the family temple of the Ashina clan and offers visitors a place to worship while encountering Kakunodate's history.
Daienji Temple
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
秋田県鹿角市十和田大湯字大湯147
Visiting Status Worship available on the temple grounds (confirm hours)
SolemnityGentlenessWarmth
A roughly 5 m-tall Amida Nyorai stands in the grounds of Daienji Temple and is known as the Oyu Daibutsu. Temple tradition says that only the head of a Buddhist statue washed ashore during a major flood in the mid-Edo period. The original date of the image is unknown, but the present full figure was reconstructed around the surviving head in 2008. Daienji stands in the Oyu Onsen area, where a huge cedar said to be about 2,000 years old stands by the temple gate. Together, the ancient tree and the Great Buddha convey the area's long religious history.
Yokote Park
Buddhist Image Peace Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
秋田県横手市城山町
Visiting Status Regular worship available (within Yokote Park / free admission)
GentlenessStillnessPeacefulness
The Peace Kannon stands on Kannon-dai in Yokote Park. It was erected as a memorial to the war dead and as a prayer for peace through the cooperation of the Yokote City Bereaved Families Association, the city social welfare council, the local Buddhist association, and members of the public. Carved in granite by stone sculptor Ishida Kansen of Okazaki, the statue measures 4.78 m including the lotus pedestal and stands on a 2.37 m natural-stone base. Completed in November 1965, it remains a familiar landmark in Yokote Park, which occupies the former site of Yokote Castle.
Jozaiin Temple
Buddhist Image Jizo Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
秋田県男鹿市北浦真山字白根坂台134
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (no reservation required / free admission)
MysteryDepthStillness
The Shinzan Mantai-butsu is housed in a small hall in Shinzan village. Approximately 12,000 small Jizo Bosatsu figures carved from cedar are arranged from beneath the floor across all four walls and up to the ceiling, filling the entire three-bay-square interior. Tradition says that the monk Fumyo established the hall in 1714 and carved the Jizo images to memorialize a disciple who died tragically and children who died young. The site remains an object of local devotion and is designated a Tangible Folk Cultural Property of Akita Prefecture. Located near the Namahage Museum and Shinzan Shrine, it is normally open for free viewing.
Saihoji Temple
Buddhist Image Thirty-Three Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
秋田県横手市平鹿町上吉田字吉田51
Visiting Status Worship available on the temple grounds (6:00–18:00 / open year-round)
GentlenessWarmthPeacefulness
Thirty-three Kannon statues, numbered from No. 1 to No. 33, are enshrined throughout the grounds of Saihoji Temple and can be visited one by one while walking through the temple. Other approachable Buddhist images, including the Pokkuri Jizo and Boke-yoke Kannon, are also enshrined here. Saihoji welcomes general visitors with the aim of making the temple easy to visit in everyday life, and the grounds also contain one of Akita Prefecture's largest temple bells. It is an open temple where visitors can quietly pray while encountering many Buddhist images.
Nokogiriyama Nihonji Temple
Buddhist Image Great Buddha (Yakushi Ruriko Nyorai) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
千葉県安房郡鋸南町元名184
Visiting Status Open to the public during viewing hours (9:00–16:00, last admission 15:00; admission fee required)
DignitySolemnityPeacefulness
The Great Buddha of Nokogiriyama Nihonji is a seated Yakushi Ruriko Nyorai carved into the mountainside. Its original form was created in 1783 by Ono Jingoro Eirei together with 27 disciples over a period of three years. After severe deterioration caused by weathering, restoration began in 1966 and continued for four years, with the image restored in 1969. Chiba Prefecture’s official tourism site introduces it as Japan’s largest cliff-carved Buddha and one of the principal sights of Nihonji. It remains open to general worship at the Daibutsu Plaza during viewing hours.
Nokogiriyama Nihonji Temple
Buddhist Image Hyakushaku Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
千葉県安房郡鋸南町元名184
Visiting Status Open to the public during viewing hours (9:00–16:00, last admission 15:00; admission fee required)
PowerMysterySolemnity
The Hyakushaku Kannon at Nihonji was commissioned to pray for those who died in war, from illness or other wartime hardships, as well as victims of traffic accidents. It was carved into the wall of a former stone quarry over six years beginning in 1960 and completed in 1966. Today it is revered as a principal image protecting the safety of sea, air and land travel. The monumental Kannon, carved directly into the vast rock face, stands in Nihonji’s summit area and is open to general worship during viewing hours.
Funagatayama Daifukuji Temple (Gake Kannon)
Buddhist Image Cliff-carved Standing Eleven-Headed Kannon (Gake Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
千葉県館山市船形835
Visiting Status Open to the public during viewing hours (8:00–16:30; free. The Kannon Hall may be closed in strong winds, heavy rain or other adverse weather)
MysterySolemnityStillness
Daifukuji’s principal image is a cliff-carved standing Eleven-Headed Kannon in a stone niche cut into the middle of the cliff behind the temple. The 131 cm figure stands on a double lotus pedestal before a boat-shaped halo; bodhisattva faces above the head, a water vase in the left hand and folds of the robes can still be identified. It is designated a Tangible Cultural Property by Tateyama City. The city notes stylistic features suggesting the middle Heian period, but says the date of production cannot be determined because of severe wear. Temple tradition holds that the image was created to pray for fishermen’s safety at sea and abundant catches. It remains open to general worship inside the Kannon Hall projecting from the cliff.
Naritasan Shinshoji Temple
Buddhist Image Fudo Myo-o (Principal Image) Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
千葉県成田市成田1
Visiting Status Open to general worship inside the Great Main Hall (anyone may enter the hall and worship the principal image; Goma fire rituals are held daily)
PowerDignitySolemnity
The principal image of Naritasan Shinshoji is Fudo Myoo. Temple tradition holds that Kobo Daishi Kukai, founder of the Shingon school, carved and consecrated the image with prayer, making three bows for each stroke of the carving. In 939, during the rebellion of Taira no Masakado, Archbishop Kancho received an imperial command to pray for the rebellion’s suppression and carried the image to the Kanto region. In 940 he performed a 21-day Goma fire ritual at Narita, an event connected with the temple’s founding tradition. Today the image is enshrined at the center of the Great Main Hall, built in 1968, with Kongara Doji on its right and Seitaka Doji on its left. Anyone may enter the hall and worship it directly, and it remains the central object of devotion in the Goma rites that have continued since the temple’s founding.
Tokyo Bay Kannon
Buddhist Image Tokyo Bay Kannon (Guze Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
千葉県富津市小久保1588
Visiting Status Open to the public during viewing hours (8:00–17:00, admission until 16:00; fee required; closed Thursdays. Hours may change by season or weather)
GentlenessPeacefulnessSolemnity
Tokyo Bay Kannon is a 56-meter-tall Guze Kannon statue standing on Mount Otsuboyama in Minami-Boso Quasi-National Park. It was erected in 1961 by Masae Usami under an ideal of world peace, and its original model was created by sculptor Ko Hasegawa. The figure holds a jewel to its chest in prayer for a peaceful world and gazes over Tokyo Bay with a gentle expression. Visitors can enter the statue and ascend toward the upper levels; many Buddhist sculptures by Hasegawa are also enshrined along the 324 steps leading toward the highest level. It is one of Chiba Prefecture’s notable monumental Kannon images, offering both an exterior view of the colossal figure and a devotional route through its interior.
Daihizan Kasamori-ji Temple (Kasamori Kannon)
Buddhist Image Eleven-Headed Kannon (Principal Image) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
千葉県長生郡長南町笠森302
Visiting Status Hidden image (unveiled from October 17 to November 18 in Years of the Ox and Horse, as listed in the temple’s annual schedule)
MysteryNobilityStillness
The principal image of Kasamori-ji is the Eleven-Headed Kannon. Chiba Prefecture describes the present image as 2.6 meters tall and bearing an inscription dated 1426. Temple tradition traces its founding to 784, when Saicho is said to have carved an Eleven-Headed Kannon from a sacred camphor tree and enshrined it on the mountain. The principal image is normally kept hidden and is unveiled only from October 17 to November 18 in Years of the Ox and Horse. It is enshrined in the Kannon Hall, famed as Japan’s only four-sided kakezukuri structure, and remains the focus of worship at the 31st temple of the Bando 33 Kannon pilgrimage.
Ryukaku-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Bronze Seated Yakushi Nyorai (Principal Image) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
千葉県印旛郡栄町龍角寺239
Visiting Status Viewable from outside the worship hall on designated unveiling days, announced in Sakae Town’s official Ryukaku-ji unveiling calendar
NobilityDepthRefinement
Ryukaku-ji’s principal image, a bronze seated Yakushi Nyorai, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. It is one of the representative Hakuho-period Buddhist images of the Kanto region. According to Chiba Prefecture, a fire during the Genroku era destroyed the body below the neck, so the present figure retains a Hakuho-period head while the body was recast in 1711–1716. Despite fire damage, the image preserves archaic features in its full ears, elongated eyes, strongly defined line from the brows to the nose, and faintly smiling mouth. It is not on permanent display, but Sakae Town publishes current unveiling dates in an official calendar, and on designated days it can be worshipped by the public from outside the hall.
Choanzan Toko-in Ishido-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Eleven-Headed Kannon (Principal Image) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
千葉県南房総市石堂302
Visiting Status Hidden image (unveiled in Years of the Ox and Horse; the 2026 Horse-year unveiling was held from March 28 to April 18)
GentlenessRefinementMystery
Ishido-ji’s principal image, a wooden standing Eleven-Headed Kannon, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. About 180 cm tall, it dates to the late Heian period and is carved from a single block of kaya wood with an unpainted finish. The crown carries a Buddha face, an Amida manifestation and bodhisattva faces; three faces on the left admonish evil, three on the right encourage those who persevere, and the rear has a laughing face that laughs away evil. The figure has a full, refined face with a gentle smile, a slender body and lightly arranged robe folds. It is normally kept hidden. The temple states that it is unveiled in Years of the Ox and Horse, and the Awa Kuni-fuda Kannon Pilgrimage Association held the 2026 Horse-year unveiling from March 28 to April 18.
Fudarakusan Nago-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Thousand-Armed Kannon (Principal Image) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
千葉県館山市那古1125
Visiting Status Hidden image (unveiled during the Ox- and Horse-year openings of the Awa Kuni-fuda Kannon pilgrimage; the 2026 Horse-year unveiling ran from March 28 to April 18)
PowerDepthSolemnity
Nago-ji’s principal image, a wooden standing Thousand-Armed Kannon, is a 149 cm single-block sculpture designated a Tangible Cultural Property by Tateyama City. Even the joined hands and the hands in front of the abdomen are carved from the main body block, while the additional arms are later replacements attached separately. Its long eyebrows and eyes and triangular nose give the face an earthy strength rather than a simply gentle expression, while the complex yet clearly carved drapery lends the figure a weighty presence. Tateyama City describes it as an emblematic example of a provincial Buddhist image from the late Heian period. It is the devotional focus of Nago-ji, the final temple of the Bando 33 Kannon pilgrimage and the first temple of the Awa Kuni-fuda Kannon pilgrimage. Normally enshrined inside its cabinet as a hidden image, it is unveiled in Years of the Ox and Horse; the 2026 Horse-year unveiling was held from March 28 to April 18.
Ketsuen-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Bronze Standing Fudo Myo-o Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
千葉県印西市結縁寺516
Visiting Status Unveiled every September 28 (advance reservation required at other times)
PowerDignityTense Presence
Ketsuen-ji’s bronze standing Fudo Myoo is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. The 47 cm cast-bronze figure has separately cast arms joined at the shoulders and stands on a bronze rock pedestal. It holds a sword in the right hand and a lasso in the left, twisting at the waist with the left foot slightly apart. Its wide-open eyes, bared fangs, wrathful expression, thick arms and sturdy body convey the realism and force characteristic of Kamakura-period sculpture. An inscription on the skirt identifies it as an image made in 1303 under the patronage of the Buddhist priest Taki-son. Bronze Fudo Myoo images designated as national Important Cultural Properties are rare; Chiba Prefecture notes that only three are known, including this one. It is open to general viewing during the annual unveiling service on September 28; at other times, advance reservations are required.
Takakurayama Mano-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Masked Thousand-Armed Kannon (Wooden Standing Thousand-Armed Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
千葉県南房総市久保587
Visiting Status Hidden image (unveiled every November 23; special inner-sanctuary viewing is also offered)
MysteryPowerDepth
Mano-ji’s principal image, known as the Masked Thousand-Armed Kannon, is a wooden standing Thousand-Armed Kannon accompanied by a wooden gyodo mask and is designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Chiba Prefecture. Temple tradition says that Gyoki carved the image from a single piece of wood in the Nara period. According to the temple, its spiritual power was considered so strong that it would punish even those guilty of minor wrongdoing, causing people to fear approaching it; a ritual mask was therefore placed on the image to restrain that power. This makes it an unusual masked Kannon with few parallels in Japan. The image is normally hidden behind the closed doors of its cabinet, but every November 23 the doors are opened and visitors can see the masked Thousand-Armed Kannon. Special viewing from within the inner sanctuary is also offered that day.
Ho-ozan Manman-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Kongo Rikishi Statues (Agyo and Ungyo) Category Tenbu (Deva)
千葉県松戸市馬橋2547
Visiting Status Unveiled three times a year (Jan. 1–3, Mar. 27–29, Oct. 27–29; 9:00–16:00). During these periods visitors may take part in the Nio matakuguri ritual, passing beneath the statue’s legs
PowerDignityTense Presence
Manman-ji’s wooden Kongo Rikishi are a pair of Agyo and Ungyo guardian statues designated as a national Important Cultural Property. Carved in joined-block construction from kaya wood and painted, the Agyo stands 288 cm tall and the Ungyo 258 cm. Their piercing crystal eyes, powerfully modeled muscles and garments that sweep with the movement of the bodies combine dynamic energy with stability; Chiba Prefecture regards them as outstanding representative Kongo Rikishi images of the Muromachi period. An inscription inside records a restoration in 1474. The statues are unveiled three times each year, at New Year and during spring and autumn observances. During these openings, worshippers can participate in the Nio matakuguri ritual, passing between the legs of the Agyo statue while praying for freedom from illness and misfortune. The opportunity to approach the images closely and take part in a devotional practice centered on the statues themselves makes this an especially distinctive site.