Ushiku Daibutsu

A 120 m bronze standing Amida Buddha with an observation deck inside.

For 15 years, from 1993 to 2008, it was the tallest statue in the world. As of 2023 it ranks fifth. It was built to mark the birth of Shinran, the founder of the Jodo Shinshu school of Buddhism. The statue is hollow, and visitors can ride an elevator up to an observation floor 85 metres above the ground, where windows in the Buddha's chest look out over the countryside.

How was it built?

Engineers first raised a strong steel column in the middle to carry the whole weight. A steel frame was then built around it in 20 layers, each made of many blocks that were put together on the ground first. Each block was covered with bronze sheets about 1.5 metres square and only around 6 millimetres thick. Cranes lifted even the hands and arms into place. Because it uses a steel frame, it is much lighter than the old solid bronze Buddha at Todai-ji temple in Nara.

What is inside?

Inside the statue is a four-storey building that works as a museum. The first floor is a dim lobby with a single beam of light falling on smoking incense. Higher up there are rooms for studying scriptures and a hall holding about 3,000 small gold Buddha statues. At the top level, windows in the chest look out over a flower garden and a small animal park next door.

On the globe

The model shows the huge standing bronze Buddha, 120 m tall, with the observation deck inside. Look at how tiny the lotus base looks next to the towering figure.