Sendai Dai Kannon

The Sendai Dai Kannon, officially known as Sendai Tendou Byakue Daikannon, stands 100 meters tall on the grounds of Daikanmitsuji Temple in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Completed in 1991 by businessman Sugawara Yorozu at a cost of approximately 4 billion yen, the statue was constructed to commemorate Sendai's designation as an ordinance-designated city and to pray for world peace and human happiness. At the time of completion, it was the tallest statue in the world, though it was surpassed by Ushiku Daibutsu in 1993. Today, it remains the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan and ranks as the tenth-tallest statue globally.

The statue portrays Byakue Kannon, the white-robed bodhisattva, holding a cintamani gem in her right hand and a water jar in her left. The gem represents wish fulfillment, while the tilted water jar symbolizes the pouring of wisdom upon the city's residents. The monument itself measures 92 meters, with an additional 8-meter pedestal bringing the total height to 100 meters, while the foundation extends 21 meters below ground.

Visitors enter through a dragon's mouth at the statue's base and pay a 500 yen admission fee for adults and high school students. The interior spans twelve floors featuring Buddhist statuary and religious exhibits. On the ground floor, 33 Kannon statues represent the different forms the bodhisattva can assume, while twelve guardian deity statues correspond to the Chinese zodiac. An elevator ascends to the twelfth floor, where the Goshinden worship hall is located at the statue's heart. This chamber enshrines Vairocana Buddha and the cintamani gem, considered Buddhist icons with the power to grant wishes for wealth, fortune, and wisdom.

The descent follows a spiral staircase through floors three to eleven, passing 108 illuminated Buddha statues that represent the 108 earthly desires in Buddhist teaching. Small viewing windows offer panoramic vistas of downtown Sendai and Mount Zao, with the Pacific Ocean visible on clear days. The temple grounds also feature Aburakake Daikokuten, a deity shrine found in only about ten locations across Japan, where visitors perform oil-pouring rituals for prosperity and marriage blessings.

From JR Sendai Station's west exit bus stop number 14, take Sendai City Bus routes 815, 825, or X910 bound for Izumi Village, Nishi-Nakayama, or Shie Bus-Sanezawa-Eigyoshomae. The journey takes approximately 30 to 40 minutes, with buses departing every 15 minutes. Alight at Sendai Daikannon-mae bus stop. For photographers, the Nakayama 7-chome bus stop, located 1 kilometer from the statue near Nakayama 7-chome Park, offers dramatic perspectives of the statue rising above residential neighborhoods. Alternative access includes a 10-minute taxi ride from JR Kunimi Station or a 15-minute drive from Sendai Miyagi IC on the Tohoku Expressway.