Ōfuna Kannon Statue (Kamakura)

 statue, memorial, buddhism, buddhist temple

The Ōfuna Kannon, Ōfuna Kannonji (大船観音寺), or Muga sozan Ōfuna Kannonji is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. The outstanding feature of the temple is a 25 meter tall 1,900 ton reinforced concrete statue of Kan'non which is dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon or Kuan Yin (in Indian Buddhism also known as Awalokiteshwara, the Mercy Embodied).

Construction of the Temple began in 1929 by the Soto(Zen) Buddhist sect. The outline of the statue was complete by 1934 but work was suspended at the outbreak of the Pacific War. The Ofuna Kannon Society continued construction work in 1954 and the Temple was finally completed in 1960. The statue construction is that of sections of poured concrete and was performed entirely by hand. No concrete pump trucks were used. The surface of the statue is painted white. The statue itself contains a small museum and shrine, and both are open for visitors.

The Kannon incorporates stones from Ground Zero of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to commemorate those who died in the explosions of the atomic bombs. A fire originating from the atomic fires of Hiroshima burns in a mushroom-formed tabernacle.