Nanzoin

photo by そらみみ (Soramimi) · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by そらみみ (Soramimi) · CC BY-SA 4.0

The reclining Buddha is 41 m long: the largest in cast bronze in the world, from 1995.

If you visit the temple you find a reclining Buddha (涅槃像, nehanzō, an image of the Buddha in nirvana) 41 metres long and about 11 high, made of about 320 cast bronze panels: the largest of its kind in the world, although larger stone statues, up to 50 metres, exist in South-East Asia. Completed in March 1995, it cost 1.5 billion yen.

A Buddhist temple in Sasaguri, on the edge of Fukuoka, the main stop on a miniature pilgrimage of the 88 sacred sites of Shikoku recreated on the surrounding hill. Inside the reclining Buddha statue you can walk a short way, described as a ‘pilgrimage in the belly’ of the statue.

ℹ️ Open 9:00–17:00. Entry to the grounds is free for Japanese residents; since 7 May 2025 adult foreign visitors pay 300¥. The route inside the statue (‘pilgrimage in the belly’) costs 500¥.

🚉 Kidonanzoin-Mae · 6 min walk

Sources: nishinippon.co.jp

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