Tentokuin (Tentokukan)
Main Image Hokkaido Tentoku Dai Kannon Category Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
Impression TagsSolemnityDignityMystery
DescriptionThe Hokkaido Tentoku Dai Kannon, formerly known as the Hokkaido Dai Kannon, is a colossal 88-meter Kannon statue in Ashibetsu. Planning began in 1975, and its consecration ceremony was held on November 3, 1989, attended by monks invited from Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, the head priest of Shin-Yakushiji in Nara, and priests from temples across Hokkaido. Inside the statue, a spiral staircase and elevator connect floors 1 through 20. Different floors enshrine forms of Kannon including Byakue Kannon Bosatsu, Ryuzu Kannon Bosatsu, Nyoirin Kannon Bosatsu, and Sho Kannon Bosatsu, together with guardian images, while the 20th floor contains the principal image and a sky worship area. Today the site is managed by Tentokuin, whose official website states that visitors may freely worship the images on the various floors. The combination of the monumental exterior and an interior pilgrimage makes this one of Hokkaido’s most distinctive Kannon worship sites.
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