It seems like many Buddha statues have some kind of claim to fame whether it be the tallest, longest or biggest one made of whatever material in whichever country, city or region.

This Buddha statue in Japan is the largest bronze statue in the world but I sadly wasn’t aware of it until shortly after I’d made a compilation post during the Covid_19 period detailing the top 10 alternative big Buddha statues in Japan. It was a bit of an annoyance to not have visited it, and due to its distance from Tokyo it was sadly one that wasn’t easy to get to. I really had to bide my time but last summer I finally had the opportunity to see it whilst I was on a whirlwind tour of Kyushu; one of Japan’s big four main islands.

It’s located in Fukuoka Prefecture but is about 20 kilometres east of the city centre with Kidonanzoin-Mae on the Fukuhokuyutaka Line being the nearest station. Just a few minutes away across the Tatara River amidst lush green vegetation aplenty is the gateway to the giant bronze reclining Buddha. The key word there is “gateway” as it takes a bit of effort to get to the statue beginning with some steps.

There is then a long tunnel to go through.

Next is a ramp which thankfully has cover as when I went the weather conditions were fairly torrid.

The head of the Buddha is what can be seen first as it’s poking out above the rooftop of the  temple building.

Moments later the whole thing can be seen in all its glory. The reclining posture depicts the Buddha at the moment of peaceful passing and entry into nirvana.

The statue was better than I imagined and hugely impressive in size. It doesn’t exactly have a rich history having only been completed in 1995 (or is being 30 years old considered historical these days?!!) but what it lacks in such significance it makes up for with its grand size. I’m certainly all about the size when it comes to Buddha statues and this one is 41 metres long, 11 metres tall and weighs about 300 tons.

The bad weather may have been a blessing in disguise in some ways as it meant there were no other tourists blocking the view although a few people in pictures can help show the real scale and size of the statue. Instead, they were all under cover in a shelter across from  the statue. Indeed, many of the photos in this post were taken from there.

The beauty of the reclining pose is that it’s possible to admire more intricate parts of the statue such as the soles of the Buddha’s feet which are decorated with some significant symbolic Buddhist art. Placing a coin on the toes is believed to bring good fortune and luck.

There are some other notable features of Nanzoin Temple itself but I was on a tight schedule so had to sadly give them a miss as I still had a couple of places to visit before my early evening flight back to Tokyo. This giant reclining bronze Buddha may have only been around for a few decades, and its location outside the city means it takes time to get there but it is well worth a few hours of your time when in Fukuoka.

• Nanzoin Temple is located at 1035 Sasaguri, Kasuya-gun, Fukuoka. It is open every day from 09:00 till 16:30, and entry is free.

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