Find Buddhist Spots
A connection with a Buddha image may appear unexpectedly. Search for places that may lead you to your own My Buddha.
Ryomozan Jichiin Temple
Buddhist Image Shaka Nyorai (Sakata Great Nyorai) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
1-4-38 Hiyoshicho, Sakata, Yamagata 998-0037, Japan
Visiting Status Normally open to visitors (check the official website or contact the temple before visiting)
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The Great Buddha of Sakata is a 17-meter standing Shakyamuni at Jichi-in in Sakata. It was first conceived after the devastating Shōnai earthquake of 1894 to mourn those killed in the disaster and the soldiers who died from wounds or illness in the First Sino-Japanese War. The original image was completed in 1914 but was requisitioned for metal during the Second World War. Rebuilt and consecrated in 1992, the present statue watches over the city as a visible memorial to lives lost through both natural disaster and war, and to the persistence of prayer across generations.
Daikichizan Shoonji Temple
Buddhist Image Seated Amida Nyorai (Morioka Great Nyorai) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
78-57 Matsukidaira, Kamiyonai, Morioka, Iwate 020-0001, Japan
Visiting Status Normally open to visitors (check the official website or contact the temple before visiting)
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Morioka Daibutsu is a bronze seated Amida Buddha in the grounds of the Sōtō Zen temple Shōon-ji. Consecrated in July 1999, it stands about 17 meters high and weighs approximately 170 tons including its granite pedestal. Twelve Korean technicians assisted with construction, which took about two months. The founder dedicated the image to four wishes: safety for families, freedom from illness, prosperity in business, and safety in travel. Overlooking central Morioka from its hillside setting, the great Buddha combines commanding scale with the calm reassurance associated with Amida.
Kamaishi Daikannon (Sekiō Zenji Temple)
Buddhist Image Gyoran Kannon (Creel Kannon; Kamaishi Daikannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
3-9-1 Odairacho, Kamaishi, Iwate 026-0002, Japan
Visiting Status Normally open to visitors (last admission 4:30 p.m.; gates close 5:00 p.m.; hours may vary seasonally and temporary closures may occur)
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Kamaishi Daikannon is a 48.5-meter white statue of Gyoran Kannon, the Fish-Basket Kannon, standing high above Kamaishi Bay on the Kamazaki Peninsula. It was erected in April 1970 at the initiative of the seventeenth head priest of Sekiō Zenji. Holding a fish, the figure represents one of the Thirty-Three Forms of Kannon. Inside are images of the Thirty-Three Kannon and the Seven Lucky Gods, while an observation deck above the fish overlooks the bay and ria coastline. The site was founded in prayer for those lost to disaster, the well-being of the living, and peace between the seen and unseen worlds.
Funaoka Castle Ruins Park
Buddhist Image Funaoka Heiwa Kannon (Funaoka Peace Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
95-1 Tateyama, Funaoka, Shibata-machi, Shibata-gun, Miyagi 989-1606, Japan
Visiting Status Normally viewable outdoors (the interior is closed due to damage from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake; check park facilities and slope-car hours before visiting)
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Funaoka Peace Kannon stands at the summit of Funaoka Castle Park in Shibata, rising 24 meters including its pedestal. The concrete statue was erected in October 1975 by local native Tokusaburō Noguchi, who used his own funds to pray for the repose of his late wife Shizu and for peace and safety throughout the world. Kannon holds a dove, a universal symbol of peace, and the figure has become a familiar landmark visible across the town. The interior, once open to visitors, remains closed because of damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Maruyama Park
Buddhist Image Yunodake Heiwa Kannon (formerly Fujiwara Jibo Kannon) Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Yunodake, Joban Fujiwaramachi, Iwaki, Fukushima 972-8326, Japan (within Maruyama Park)
Visiting Status Viewable outdoors free of charge (unattended; walk uphill from Maruyama Park. Avoid driving the unpaved access track and check current path conditions.)
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A white Peace Kannon now stands beside a war memorial tower in the upper part of Maruyama Park on Mount Yunotake in Iwaki. The approximately 17-meter FRP figure began as the gilded Fujiwara Jibo Kannon, the principal landmark of the sightseeing attraction Iwaki Hotoke no Sato, which opened during the economic-bubble era. After the facility closed, local residents repainted the statue white and relocated it to its present setting. Its unusual second life transformed a commercial symbol into an image of remembrance for the war dead and a prayer for peace.
Hyakushaku Kannon
Buddhist Image Hyakushaku Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
686 Takanesawa, Nikkeshi, Soma, Fukushima 979-2522, Japan
Visiting Status Open from 8:30 a.m. until around dusk (open year-round; free access for worship)
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Hyakushaku Kannon in Soma is an unfinished monumental image carved directly into a mountainside. After traveling throughout Japan, local Buddhist sculptor Yoshiaki Ara resolved to devote his life to creating a single sacred image and continued carving alone for more than thirty years. He died before completing it, but the vow was inherited by his descendants; fourth-generation sculptor Yōnosuke Ara now carries the work forward. Few Buddhist sites make the passage of time so visible: the act of creation itself has become a multigenerational form of devotion.
Tohoku
Buddhist Image Seated Amida Nyorai (Tomizawa Great Nyorai) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Iwasakiyama, Tomizawa, Shibata, Shibata District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Visiting Status Open to visitors; check local conditions before visiting
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The Tomizawa rock-carving group occupies a tuff cliff at the foot of Mount Iwasaki in Shibata. At its center is the 2.4-meter seated Amida Buddha known as the Tomizawa Daibutsu, bearing an inscription dated 1306. Nearby are a cave with the Six Jizo dated 1307, another containing Kokuzo Bosatsu dated 1294, and a Nyoirin Kannon affectionately called the Sleeping Kannon. Memorial stones and later images show that worship continued here for centuries. Cherished locally as “the Great Buddha,” the quiet rock face preserves an unusually rich record of medieval faith.
Wada Daibutsu and the Horizontal-Tomb Caves
Buddhist Image Amida Nyorai (traditional identification) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Wada-Aza-Daibutsu, Sukagawa, Fukushima, Japan
Visiting Status Open to visitors at all times
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Wada Daibutsu is an approximately 3.6-meter-high Buddhist image carved into a rocky hillside on the western bank of the Abukuma River. It is traditionally identified as Amida Nyorai, although some believe that it may represent Dainichi Nyorai. Around twenty horizontal-tomb caves dating from the final phase of the Kofun period remain nearby, creating a quiet and mysterious setting where an ancient burial ground and medieval Buddhist faith overlap on the same rock face. The image was also once associated with prayers for mothers who wished to produce more breast milk, showing its close connection to the everyday lives and beliefs of the local community.
Kameoka Monju (Daishoji Temple)
Buddhist Image Monju Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
4028-1 Kameoka, Takahata, Higashiokitama District, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / The principal image is hidden and normally not displayed
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Daishoji is an ancient temple of the Chisan school of Shingon Buddhism and the home of Kameoka Monju, counted among Japan’s Three Great Monju sanctuaries. Temple tradition holds that its hidden Monju Bosatsu was brought from Mount Wutai in China and transferred here by the monk Tokuitsu in 807. Revered as the “Living Monju,” the deity grants wisdom, happiness, success in examinations, and accomplishment in learning. Beyond the stone-paved approach shaded by ancient cedars, the hall combines intellectual clarity with the quiet authority of a temple long honored as an imperial place of prayer.
Kaikoji Temple
Buddhist Image Chukai Shonin and Enmyokai Shonin (Sokushinbutsu) Category Other
2-7-12 Hiyoshicho, Sakata, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / Closed every Tuesday and January 1–3
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Kaiko-ji is a Shingon Chisan temple known for preserving the ascetic traditions of sacred Mount Yudono. Its Sokubutsu Hall enshrines two sokushinbutsu: Chūkai Shōnin, who entered final meditation in 1755, and Enmyōkai Shōnin, who did so in 1822. Both undertook thousand-day disciplines and progressively renounced grain and other foods before their underground meditation. It is widely regarded as the only temple in Japan where two sokushinbutsu are enshrined together. The quiet hall confronts visitors with the extraordinary resolve of practitioners who dedicated their bodies and prayers to the salvation of others.
Risshakuji Temple (Yamadera)
Buddhist Image Seated Amida Nyorai Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
4456-1 Yamadera, Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open during Risshakuji opening hours / Hours may change in winter due to weather
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Risshaku-ji’s Great Buddha Hall stands beside the Oku-no-in at the end of the climb through Yamadera. Inside is a golden seated Amida Buddha approximately five meters high, before which memorial services with wooden stupas are performed each day. Reached after the long ascent of 1,015 stone steps from the foot of the mountain, the great image forms a fitting conclusion to the pilgrimage. In the clear air of the summit, Amida’s calm expression transforms physical effort into a quiet encounter with remembrance, reassurance, and prayer.
Zenpoji Temple
Buddhist Image Five Hundred Arhats and Shaka Triad Category Other
100-1 Sekine, Shimogawa, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / Check opening hours and admission fees before visiting
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Zenpo-ji’s Five Hundred Rakan Hall was built in 1855 through donations from merchants enriched by the Kitamaebune shipping trade. The registered historic building contains 531 Rakan, or arhats, with no two figures sharing the same face, posture, or robe pattern. At the front stand the Shaka Triad and Ten Great Disciples; the Wind and Thunder Gods appear above the columns, while the Four Heavenly Kings guard the four directions. Within this extraordinary assembly, individual expressions make the Buddhist saints feel vividly human, while the scale of the hall preserves the maritime faith and generosity of generations.
Churenji Temple
Buddhist Image Tetsumonkai Shonin (Sokushinbutsu) Category Other
92-1 Nakadai, Oami, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / 10:00–14:00 / Advance reservation recommended because closing days vary
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Chūren-ji is a major temple of Mount Yudono devotion and the 31st temple of the Shōnai Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. Its main hall enshrines the sokushinbutsu of Tetsumonkai Shōnin, an ascetic revered for spreading the Yudono faith and working for the relief of ordinary people. The hall also contains a rare Shō Kannon traditionally formed from incense ash, zodiac guardian deities, and ceiling paintings by contemporary artists. In the remote mountain settlement of Ōami, the preserved body, sacred images, and view toward Mount Gassan reveal the intense discipline and compassionate purpose of Yudono asceticism.
Gokokuji Temple
Buddhist Image Sho Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
7 Shakado, Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / Generally 8:00–17:00; may close at 16:00 from October onward
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Karamatsu Kannon is the fifth temple of the Mogami Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. Its vermilion hall projects from the mountainside in the kakezukuri style, modeled on the famous stage of Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto; the present building was completed in 1976. The hidden principal image is a tiny solid-gold Shō Kannon, about 5.5 centimeters high, traditionally carved by Kūkai and once treasured as the personal devotional image of Princess Toyomaru. From the elevated hall, the gentle Kannon devotion and broad views across Yamagata create a bright yet secluded place of prayer.
Shozen-in Temple
Buddhist Image Thirty-Three Images of Sho Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
232 Toge, Haguromachi, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Seasonal viewing / Mid-April to mid-November, 9:00–16:30 / Advance contact recommended; entry unavailable on some dates
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Shōzen-in’s Kogane-dō, a National Important Cultural Property, is the oldest surviving building within the sacred precincts of Mount Haguro. Its principal sacred group consists of thirty-three Shō Kannon images: three large seated figures surrounded by thirty life-size standing figures. Tradition associates the hall with a foundation ordered by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1193. Many additional Buddhist images form a three-dimensional mandala of the Dewa Sanzan, allowing worshippers to symbolically retrace a pilgrimage to Mounts Haguro, Gassan, and Yudono within the hall.
Niwatsuki Kannon (Gakuzoin Temple)
Buddhist Image Sho Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
2829 Niwatsuki, Sakegawa, Mogami District, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / The principal image is hidden and shown once every twelve years
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Niwatsuki Kannon, formally Gattuzō-in, is the 33rd and final temple of the Mogami Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. Its hidden Shō Kannon is traditionally attributed to Ennin, while recent study indicates that the image was made about a thousand years ago and preserves features related to the sacred Kannon of Enryaku-ji’s Yokawa Chūdō. In the Oizuri-dō, generations of pilgrims have left their white pilgrimage robes and staffs after completing the circuit. Beside the clear Sake River, the temple gives physical form to the relief, gratitude, and fulfilled vows that conclude a long journey.
Kichijoin Temple
Buddhist Image Senju Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
509 Senjudo, Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / The principal image is hidden; special unveiling every August 10 / Viewing available by advance request
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Kichijō-in, the third temple of the Mogami Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, preserves a National Important Cultural Property standing Kannon in its Oku-no-in. The 175-centimeter image was carved from a single zelkova trunk around the tenth century. Both arms below the shoulders are now missing, but surviving mortise holes indicate that it was originally a multi-armed Senju Kannon. Its broad face, substantial body, and traces of wave-pattern drapery preserve the dignity of early Heian sculpture. The sanctuary opens specially on August 10 and may also be viewed by advance arrangement.
Kurotori Kannon
Buddhist Image Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
1810 Higashine Ko, Higashine, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / Please check in advance whether the principal image can be viewed directly
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Kurotori Kannon is the 19th temple of the Mogami Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage and enshrines an Eleven-Headed Kannon traditionally attributed to Ennin. Its walls and ceiling are covered with mukasari ema, votive paintings of wedding scenes offered chiefly for children and unmarried people who died young, in the hope that they might marry in the afterlife. This distinctive form of posthumous memorial devotion survives in parts of northeastern Japan. Views toward Mount Gassan, Mount Hayama, and Higashine contrast the open mountain landscape with the intimate grief and affection preserved inside the hall.
Jionji Temple
Buddhist Image Yakushi Nyorai, Nikko Bosatsu, Gakko Bosatsu, and the Twelve Heavenly Generals Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
31 Jionji Chiseki, Sagae, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / 9:00–16:00 / Open year-round
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Jion-ji’s Yakushi Hall enshrines a National Important Cultural Property Yakushi Triad and the Twelve Divine Generals. An inscription inside the central Yakushi Nyorai records that it was made in 1310 by the Buddhist sculptor Inpō; the attendant Nikkō and Gakkō Bodhisattvas date from the end of the Kamakura period. The dynamic guardian figures were created mainly in the late thirteenth century, although four were replaced in the Edo period, and each bears a zodiac animal above the head. Healing compassion and vivid protective force meet in one of northeastern Japan’s finest ensembles of medieval Buddhist sculpture.
Hasedo Kannon (Chokoin Temple)
Buddhist Image Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
23-3 Hasedo, Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan
Visiting Status Usually open to visitors / The principal image is hidden and normally not displayed / Goshuin office currently closed
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Hasedō Kannon Hall, the 12th temple of the Mogami Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, stands near the summit of the former Hasedō Castle. Its principal image is a golden Eleven-Headed Kannon only about five centimeters high, traditionally attributed to Gyōki and enclosed within a wooden image approximately one meter tall. Temple tradition connects the sanctuary with Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, who enshrined a Kannon associated with Hase-dera in Yamato during his northern campaign. The climb through a landscape remembered for the 1600 Battle of Hasedō leads to a quiet image that has endured fire, warfare, and generations of prayer.