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Kamijima Fumonin Kannon Hall
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Eleven-Faced Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県上伊那郡辰野町上島2305
Visiting Status Special viewing twice a year (May 3 and Coming of Age Day in January / groups of 6 or more by advance application)
NobilityRefinementStillness
Kamijima Fumonin Kannon Hall preserves this wooden standing Eleven-Faced Kannon Bodhisattva, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. It was made in 1323, near the end of the Kamakura period, by Myokai, a Buddhist sculptor and monk associated with Zenkoji. About 89 cm high, the figure is carved from a single block of kaya wood and is noted for its youthful, dignified face and refined standing form. Relics and devotional materials including Buddhist relics, grains of sacred earth, clipped fingernails, medicinal substances, and fragments of sutra manuscripts were placed inside the statue, together with inscriptions recording the intentions behind its creation. The image is now kept in a preservation repository and is generally unveiled twice a year, on May 3 and Coming of Age Day in January. Groups of six or more may apply in advance to the Tatsuno Town Board of Education for viewing.
Fukumanji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Yakushi Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
長野県東筑摩郡麻績村日2120
Visiting Status Advance contact required (open to the public on May 3 each year / also viewable during the New Year’s Eve temple visit)
DignityPeacefulnessSolemnity
The principal image of Fukumanji Temple’s Ruri Hall is a wooden seated Yakushi Nyorai designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Dating to the late Heian period, it is 147 cm high, made of katsura wood in joined-block construction, and left with a plain wood surface. Its full cheeks, long narrow eyes, and commanding physique give it a powerful presence; Omi Village introduces it as one of the largest Yakushi images in eastern Japan. Ruri Hall also enshrines four other nationally designated Important Cultural Property statues: Nikko Bosatsu, Gakko Bosatsu, Bishamonten, and Fudo Myoo. Viewing the Important Cultural Properties normally requires advance contact, while Ruri Hall is opened to the public for the spring service on May 3 each year, and the principal image may also be viewed during the New Year’s Eve temple visit.
Keishizan Shogakuin Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Kannon Bosatsu, Traditionally Identified as Eleven-Faced Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県長野市安茂里630
Visiting Status Regular worship available (9:00–17:00 / free)
DignityDepthStillness
Shogakuin Temple preserves this wooden standing Kannon Bodhisattva, a Treasure of Nagano Prefecture and locally revered as the Kubodera Kannon, traditionally identified as Eleven-Faced Kannon. Nagano City materials date it to the early 10th century and give its height as 181.2 cm. The figure is principally carved from a single block of cherry wood, with the shoulders joined separately. Its heavy, archaic appearance recalls Nara-period sculpture, while the treatment of the lower garment and robe folds reflects features of the middle Heian period. Together with the ancient Buddhist images at Seisuiji Temple in Matsushiro, it is regarded as one of the oldest surviving wooden Buddhist sculptures in Nagano Prefecture. It is now enshrined in the Main Hall, and current temple-provided visitor information lists worship hours from 9:00 to 17:00.
Kinbozan Hasedera Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Eleven-Faced Kannon Bosatsu (Hitohada Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県長野市篠ノ井塩崎878
Visiting Status Secret image (unveiled in spring in Tiger and Monkey years / twice every 12 years)
MysteryNobilityStillness
The secret principal image of Kinbozan Hasedera Temple is a wooden Eleven-Faced Kannon Bodhisattva known as “Hitohada Kannon.” The temple’s official site dates it to the Heian period, while Nagano’s official tourism site describes it as having been made in the late Heian period. Hasedera is counted with the temples in Nara and Kamakura as one of Japan’s “Three Hasedera Kannon” sites and has long been associated with pilgrimage to Zenkoji. The principal image is normally hidden from view and is unveiled in spring in Tiger and Monkey years, twice every 12 years. During the 2022 unveiling, visitors could worship before the image in Kannon Hall from 10:00 to 16:00 with free admission.
Togakuji Temple
Buddhist Image Idaten Category Tenbu (Deva)
長野県木曽郡南木曽町読書3857
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (8:00–17:00 / Enku Hall admission ¥100)
PowerMysteryDepth
Togakuji Temple preserves this statue of Idaten carved by Enku and designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Nagiso Town. The Hachijuni Culture Foundation dates it to around 1686 and gives its height as 47.3 cm. It belongs to the period when Enku traveled through the Kiso region. Togakuji also preserves Enku’s Benzaiten with Fifteen Attendants and a Tenjin statue, and all three are designated cultural properties of the town. The Hachijuni Culture Foundation describes Enku’s sculpture as having a rough, forceful quality unlike the work of professional Buddhist sculptors, yet capable of conveying deep emotional power. Nagano Prefecture’s official tourism site states that all three Enku statues at Togakuji can be viewed.
Risshizan Daiyuji Temple (Komoro Zenkoji)
Buddhist Image Bronze Standing Amida Nyorai with Two Attendants (Amida Triad Sharing One Halo) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
長野県小諸市東雲6-8-17
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (8:00–17:00 / free admission)
DignitySolemnityStillness
The principal image of Komoro Zenkoji, or Daiyuji Temple, is a gilt-bronze Zenkoji-style Amida triad designated a Treasure of Nagano Prefecture. Amida Nyorai stands at the center with Kannon and Seishi Bodhisattvas as attendants, all sharing a single halo in the distinctive Zenkoji triad form. The National Zenkoji Association’s temple guide relates that the image was made in 1244 as the principal image of Zenkoji at Ochiai in present-day Saku City. After surviving warfare and fires, it was enshrined at its present location when Daiyuji was founded in 1930. Komoro City also describes it as a Zenkoji-style one-halo triad showing characteristics of Kamakura-period Buddhist sculpture. It can currently be worshipped in the Main Hall from 8:00 to 17:00 with free admission.
Senenzan Kanryuji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県千曲市森2650-1
Visiting Status Advance contact required (prior arrangement with the caretaker is necessary)
NobilityMysteryStillness
The principal image of Kanryuji Temple’s Kannon Hall is a wooden seated Thousand-Armed Kannon Bodhisattva designated a Treasure of Nagano Prefecture. Dating to the late Heian period, it is 94 cm high, carved from a single block of kaya wood and originally colored. The Hachijuni Culture Foundation describes it as a representative late-Heian bodhisattva image and as a particularly noteworthy early example of the relatively rare seated Thousand-Armed Kannon type. Kanryuji also preserves many other ancient Buddhist sculptures, including a prefectural-treasure standing Eleven-Faced Kannon and a city-designated group of Kannon’s Twenty-Eight Attendants. Because the temple is unstaffed, viewing inside the hall requires advance contact with the local caretaker, but the principal image can be worshipped by prior arrangement.
Nishimakizan Shinkoji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Amida Nyorai with Two Attendant Bodhisattvas Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
長野県松本市梓川上野1918
Visiting Status Viewing generally available (advance contact recommended, as the priest may be away)
PowerDignitySolemnity
Enshrined in the Treasure Hall of Shinkoji Temple, this wooden Amida Nyorai with two attendant Bodhisattvas is designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. An inscription inside the central seated Amida confirms that it was made in 1203. Carved from hinoki wood in joined-block construction, the image has large applied spiral curls, sharply defined eyes, and a solid, stable physique that expresses the powerful character of early Kamakura-period sculpture. The standing Seishi Bodhisattva to the viewer’s left is thought to date from roughly the same period as the principal image, while the standing Kannon Bodhisattva to the viewer’s right is estimated to have been made around the 15th century. The temple states that the triad can generally be viewed, though advance contact is recommended because the priest may be away.
Seisuizan Kokyuji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Nikko and Gakko Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県安曇野市明科中川手5773
Visiting Status Special viewing (third Sunday of each month; application required at least one week in advance)
RefinementNobilityStillness
Kokyuji Temple preserves a pair of wooden standing Nikko and Gakko Bosatsu designated Treasures of Nagano Prefecture. An inscription inside the statues records their consecration in 1317, placing them at the end of the Kamakura period. Azumino City traditionally attributes them to Myokai, a Buddhist sculptor associated with Zenkoji. Formerly enshrined in the Main Hall, they are now kept in the kuri, or temple living quarters. Their securely documented date makes them especially valuable examples of medieval Buddhist sculpture. Azumino City opens them to the public on the third Sunday of each month; visitors must apply to the city’s Cultural Properties Protection Section at least one week before the viewing date.
Yonako Fudoson Honbo Yonako Takizan Fudoji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Fudo Myo-o Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
長野県須坂市米子町1057
Visiting Status Secret image (unveiled annually on May 1 during the Spring Grand Festival)
DignityPowerTense Presence
The secret principal image of Yonako Fudoson is a wooden standing Fudo Myoo designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Suzaka City. The statue is 162 cm high and weighs 47.5 kg, with painted wooden surfaces and crystal-inlaid eyes. Its asymmetrical eyes and fangs, taut physique, lasso, and sword create a powerful and highly focused presence. Suzaka City considers it an early Kamakura-period work by a sculptor of the Unkei lineage and notes its excellent state of preservation. Temple tradition attributes the image to Kobo Daishi and holds that it was transmitted from the Ashikaga family to Uesugi Kenshin as a personal devotional image. Normally enshrined in the temple’s Main Hall, it is unveiled only once a year, during the Spring Grand Festival and Kechien Dai-Goma ritual on May 1.
Hofukuji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県松本市保福寺町724
Visiting Status Secret image (open for two days each January: the second Monday and the preceding day)
DignityPowerNobility
The secret principal image of Hofukuji Temple is a wooden standing Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon Bosatsu designated an Important Cultural Property of Matsumoto City. The 143 cm-high image is made of hinoki cypress in joined-block construction. Matsumoto City dates it to the latter half of the Kamakura period, noting Song-influenced treatment of the drapery. Full cheeks, long upturned eyes, and a tightly set mouth give the face a somewhat stern dignity, while the deeply carved, forceful folds around the waist are particularly striking. The statue has forty-two arms, and a Thousand-Armed Kannon as the principal image of a Zen temple is highly unusual. The temple describes it as the oldest and one of the finest Buddhist images in the Shiga district. It is shown only for two days each January, during the Daihannya service on the second Monday and the Yakuyoke prayer festival on the preceding day.
Hojuzan Kousanji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Standing Sho Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県上水内郡小川村稲丘7119
Visiting Status Secret image (unveiled annually on August 10 for the Shimanrokusennichi observance)
NobilityMysteryStillness
The secret principal image of Kousanji Temple’s Kannon Hall is a wooden standing Sho Kannon Bosatsu designated an Important Cultural Property of Ogawa Village. The 52.5 cm-high statue is carved from a single piece of hinoki cypress, with the head and body formed from the same block and no interior hollowing. It has carved eyes, a carved topknot, and stands with both feet together while making the wish-granting gesture. The temple and Ogawa Village date the image to the mid-Heian period. The hall also preserves nearly one thousand small Buddhist images carved by the mokujiki ascetic Sankyo, and Kousanji is the final temple of the Shinano Thirty-Three Kannon pilgrimage. The secret principal image is unveiled only once a year, on August 10 during the Shimanrokusennichi observance.
Mirinzan Heifukuji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
長野県岡谷市長地柴宮3-3-22
Visiting Status Special viewing (last Sunday of May each year during the Suwa Shinbutsu public opening)
PowerDignitySolemnity
Heifukuji Temple preserves a wooden seated Amida Nyorai designated a Treasure of Nagano Prefecture. Carved in the Kamakura period from hinoki cypress using joined-block construction, the temple attributes the image to a sculptor of the Kei school, the lineage represented by Unkei. It was originally enshrined in the Amida Hall of Sanseiji, a former betto temple of Suwa Taisha’s Shimosha Akimiya, and was transferred to Heifukuji when Sanseiji was abolished during the early Meiji separation of Shinto and Buddhism. The statue has a commanding, powerful presence, and the Suwa Shinbutsu Project describes the life-sized seated image as a masterpiece from the golden age of the Kei school. It is now specially opened to the public during the annual Suwa Shinbutsu simultaneous opening held on the last Sunday of May.
Zenkoji Daihongan
Buddhist Image Wooden Basara Taisho Statue Category Tenbu (Deva)
長野県長野市元善町500
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (8:00–15:30 / last admission 15:00; open daily; admission ¥500)
PowerDignityTense Presence
Displayed in the Treasure Hall of Zenkoji Daihongan, this wooden Basara Taisho is a Tangible Cultural Property designated by Nagano City. It was formerly preserved on Mount Togakushi together with a statue of Prince Shotoku, but was removed from Togakushi during the early Meiji separation of Shinto and Buddhism and became part of Daihongan’s collection. Carved from a single block of hinoki cypress, the fierce guardian stands with bristling hair, a sword in his right hand, his left fist at his waist, and his legs planted wide apart. It is now on display in the Treasure Hall and is easy to visit in conjunction with a pilgrimage to Zenkoji.
Zenkoji Daikanjin
Buddhist Image Yakuyoke Fudoson (Fudo Myo-o) Category Myo-o (Wisdom King)
長野県長野市元善町492
Visiting Status Regular worship available (Goma prayers at 9:30, 11:00, 13:00 and 14:30 / Fudo festival day on the 28th of each month)
DignityPowerTense Presence
The Yakuyoke Fudoson is enshrined in the Goma Hall of Daikanjin, the main temple office of Zenkoji. According to temple tradition, the image was carved by the Tendai monk Enchin, also known as Chisho Daishi, and it has long attracted worship as one of Japan’s three great Fudo images for protection from misfortune. The hall also enshrines Aizen Myoo and Ganzan Daishi, and daily goma fire rituals continue to make it an active center of devotion. Since April 2026, regular goma prayers are held four times a day at 9:30, 11:00, 13:00 and 14:30, with the 28th of each month observed as Fudo’s festival day.
Saikozan Muryo-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
長野県上伊那郡箕輪町東箕輪4307
Visiting Status Advance contact required (contact the temple in advance to view cultural properties)
DepthNobilityStillness
Muryo-ji Temple preserves this wooden seated Amida Nyorai, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Minowa Town dates it to the late Heian period and attributes it to the monk-sculptors Kakuyu and Eihan. The 113.3 cm-high image is made of hinoki cypress in joined-block construction, with lacquer-gilded surfaces and carved eyes. Names of donors are inscribed inside the back of the statue, reflecting the region’s historical ties with the Fujiwara, while its unusually substantial timber and strong carving distinguish it from many works of the same period. The image is now enshrined in Hoko Hall, and Nagano Prefecture’s official tourism site asks visitors to contact the temple in advance to view its cultural properties.
Shizukudayama Chikusenin Fukuoji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
長野県佐久市協和1054
Visiting Status Viewing available (tourism information lists 9:00–18:00 and admission ¥100 / advance confirmation recommended)
PowerPeacefulnessDepth
Fukuoji Temple preserves this wooden seated Amida Nyorai, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. The temple dates the image to 1203 and gives its height as 138.3 cm, describing it as principally constructed from katsura wood using a single-block technique. While the face retains the gentle quality of Heian-period Amida images, the broad, swelling shoulders and deeply cut, powerful robe folds reveal the vigorous style of the early Kamakura period. The statue is therefore notable as evidence of how quickly new sculptural trends from the capital reached Shinshu. It is now housed in a dedicated repository and is listed in visitor information as open for viewing.
Ikkouzan Muryojuin Sainen-ji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Seated Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
長野県佐久市岩村田1188
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (Jodo-shu temple directory lists viewing and group visits as available)
PeacefulnessNobilityStillness
Enshrined as the principal image in the Main Hall of Sainen-ji, this wooden seated Amida Nyorai is designated a Treasure of Nagano Prefecture. Dating to the late Heian period, around the end of the 12th century, it preserves the refined Jocho style. The 130.3 cm-high image is made of hinoki cypress in joined-block construction and lacquer-gilded. Downcast, elongated eyes, relaxed shoulders and arms, and gently arranged robe folds give the figure the calm elegance associated with late Fujiwara sculpture. An inscription on the bottom board records repairs in 1563, showing that the image has been carefully preserved for centuries. The current Jodo-shu temple directory lists the temple as open for viewing and able to receive group visits.
Karukayazan Jakushoin Saikoji Temple
Buddhist Image Wooden Karukaya Jizo Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県長野市北石堂町1398
Visiting Status Regular viewing available (9:00–16:00 / open daily; donation requested)
WarmthStillnessDepth
Enshrined in Karukaya Hall as a principal image of Saikoji Temple, this wooden Karukaya Jizo is designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Nagano City. The 84 cm-high standing Jizo has a rounded, shaven head. Saikoji is closely associated with the story of the ascetic Karukaya Doshin and his son Ishidomaru, a tale known from medieval preaching narratives and Noh, and its principal images are traditionally revered as a pair known as the Karukaya Parent-and-Child Jizo. This statue is the city-designated image of the pair. Located near the main approach between Nagano Station and Zenkoji, it is normally open to visitors. The temple also offers etoki picture-storytelling about the parent and child, allowing visitors to experience the image together with the tradition surrounding it.
Myojozan Fumonin Kannonji Temple
Buddhist Image Motodori Bato Kanzeon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
長野県長野市中御所2-13-22
Visiting Status Secret image (unveiled annually on August 9 during the 48,000-Day Ennichi service)
MysteryNobilityStillness
The secret Motodori Bato Kanzeon Bosatsu is revered as the principal image of Kannonji Temple. According to temple tradition, it was a personal devotional image of Minamoto no Yoritomo. The temple traces its origin to Yoritomo’s stay in Nakagosho while visiting Zenkoji, when he is said to have established a hall here and enshrined the image. The name Motodori, meaning a topknot, comes from the tradition that Yoritomo carried the small image concealed in his hair. Normally kept hidden, it is unveiled once each year on August 9 during the temple’s 48,000-Day Ennichi service. About an eight-minute walk from Nagano Station, it is an unusually accessible secret image with a clearly established annual viewing date.