High above the tree line of Mount Mugaso the statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, stands at the gateway to Kamakura. Construction of the

---

High above the tree line of Mount Mugaso the statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, stands at the gateway to Kamakura. Construction of the Temple began in 1929 by the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism and although outline of the statue was completed in 1934 work was suspended at the outbreak of WWII. The statue was completed in 1960. Ofuna Kannon includes stones from ground zero at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to commemorate victims of the atomic bombs. Originally praying for permanent world peace, the goddess of mercy belief spread and in 1929 the building of the statue began. The Ofuna Kannon-ji the goddess of mercy carries the prayers for peace of foreigners and Japanese citizens alike.

---

Size: 3828px × 5742px
Location: Ofuna, Japan
Photo credit: © John Lander / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, believer, buddhist, devote, devoted, devotional, devout, divine, divinity, goddess, head, holy, kannon, kannon-ji, kannonji, kanon, kaoon, mercy, ofuna, people, person, persons, pious, religious, sacred, spiritual, statue