Fukuoka, Japan (& the Great Buddha Wars)
- Jennifer
- Mar 7
- 4 min read
David and I visited Fukuoka first, so David could visit Kyushu, and second, so he could see one of the largest reclining Buddhas in the world. I have little else to say about that particular city, despite having lived not too far north of it for a time.
Buddhism and Shintoism divorced many years ago, apparently for political reasons, with a Shogunate claiming divine power to rule through Shintoism. Buddhism predates many other religions, one of the oldest in the world. As such, its influence shaped the cultures of the far east, even the landscape. And, peaking his head out from between the Bukhansan mountains, is one of the religion’s largest sitting Buddhas in the world.
Despite advertising itself as the largest sitting Buddha in East Asia, when I look up Biggest Buddhas, I don’t even see the Golden Buddha of Bukhansan. Nor do I see the Nanzo-in Reclining Buddha, whose height is comparable to the statue of liberty, though he is laying down. Occasionally, depending on the list, I might see mention of Kamakura’s Daibutsu (Kōtoku-in Great Buddha), but that seems to be because of its age and wonderful vacationing spot near Tokyo. He is listed as the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan.
It seems like all the rankings are based on posture, material, area… and even with that breakdown, what I have seen may or may not make any list. I didn’t even know the Bukhansan Buddha was there until the mountain trail, quite literally in the middle of a national park, broke away to a temple and I caught him peeking out at us.
So, David and I have seen three extremely large but not largest Buddhas this past year. Maybe the largest laying down or the largest bronze or the largest-oldest-sitting-crossed-legged… I couldn’t tell you. There are many, and most of the biggest ones are in Thailand and China, which I might never get to visit. Even then, I still find them to be majestic, and I do love to visit them in their serene temples, throughout the world. Buddhism is not theistic, they are not gods, casting down judgement, they are pondering or resting at peace. Sharing their peace.
My personal ranking of the three we’ve seen is…
#1 Kōtoku-in Great Buddha (Daibutsu)
There is a reason you will see this Buddha making lists – they really got me with that Kamakura vacation spot south of Tokyo. The temple and its grounds are well kept and beautiful, especially in the spring or autumn. You can enter the Buddha and see the internal construction and amaze at the fact that this Buddha you can walk around inside is older than the United States of America. By quite a bit. Nearby, there are more shrines, including an interesting one where you can wash your money for good fortune… it makes for a very, very interesting day. The Buddha himself may not be the most ornate of the ones I’ve seen, but he is surely the most historic and culturally interesting.
#2 Golden Buddha of Bukhansan
I am a sucker for off-the-beaten-path oddities. The most information I have found about him has been in other blog posts, so he appears to be somewhat of a well-kept secret. This Buddha is located in South Korea’s Bukhansan National Park, in a trail connected to the one that takes you to the highest peak. We know this because we were trying to summit and thwarted by a recent landslide.
One thing I did find online was that he is also known as the Guknyeong Grand Buddha Statue and the peak of that mountain is known as a spot where a dragon ascended and thus the Buddha symbolizes the heart of the dragon below the mountain’s peak.
#3 Nanzo-in Reclining Buddha
He certainly is impressively large. It’s incredible to think his temple was almost destroyed during a revolution against Buddhism in Japan’s past. This is the youngest of the Buddhas we saw, completed in the very recent 1995, making him younger than even me!
Nanzo-in is part of the Sasauri 88 temple pilgrimage, which is a newer pilgrimage that only takes three days to complete. It is modeled after the famous Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage, which takes exceedingly longer and more historically significant. Being the first temple on this route does attract quite a number of visitors, however.
David, "Oh look, I'm less than a foot tall!"
Of course, after ranking these and discussing ranking our three lonely Buddhas, David asked me nonchalantly which of them I think would win a fight. Now, this dates back to our earlier discussion, not yet mentioned in this blog, about which of the konbini would win in the Great Mecha Konbini Wars (I will someday explain this, perhaps, but not today). So, the idea that great statues in Japan would get up in the middle of the night and theoretically fight each other and David and I would make bets on the winner is not new to us, but it is to you – you’re welcome.
So, how would I rank these contestants?
#1 Golden Buddha of Bukhansan
#2 Kōtoku-in Great Buddha (Daibutsu)
#3 Nanzo-in Reclining Buddha
So, you would think that the Reclining Buddha, being the largest of the three by quite a margin, would be the winner. However, you would be fooled. Do you know why some Buddhas are modeled in a reclining position? The position is that of the moment of death and ascension – so, he’s already out of the match. Then, the Golden Buddha of Bukhansan dwarfs Japan’s Daibutsu, and is younger and more spry. He would get up, stretch limberly (as gold is a much softer metal than bronze) jog over to Japan, and give Daibutsu swirlies in Tokyo bay.*
The gold metal matches his gold ascetic, what can I say.
Thanks for reading, I apologize for whatever this debacle of writing has become.
*All midnight Mecha statues or fighters are fictitious and not related to anyone alive nor dead nor ascended (no religious offenses intended, either)
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