Ushiku Daibutsu

Ushiku Great Buddha
(牛久大仏)
	Image of the Ushiku Daibutsu
Coordinates	35°58′57″N 140°13′13″E / 35.98250°N 140.22028°ECoordinates: 35°58′57″N 140°13′13″E / 35.98250°N 140.22028°E
Location	Ushiku, Ibaraki, Japan
Designer
Type	statue
Material	bronze
Height	statue: 100 metres (330 ft); including base: 120 metres (390 ft);
Completion date	1993

Ushiku Daibutsu (牛久大仏) is a statue located in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Completed in 1993, it stands a total of 120 metres (390 ft) tall, including the 10 m (33 ft) base and 10m lotus platform. The statue held the record for the tallest statue from 1993–2008. As of 2018, it is one of the top five tallest statues in the world.^[1]

An elevator takes visitors up 85 m (279 ft) to an observation floor. The statue depicts Amitabha Buddha and is made of bronze. It is also known as Ushiku ARCADIA (Amida's Radiance and Compassion Actually Developing and Illuminating Area). It was built to commemorate the birth of Shinran, founder of the Jōdo Shinshū 浄土真宗 or "True Pure Land School" of Buddhism.^[2]

Details[]

Weight: 4,003 tonnes (8,825,000 lb)
Length of Left Hand: 18.00 m (59.06 ft)
Length of Face: 20.00 m (65.62 ft)
Length of Eye: 2.55 m (8.4 ft)
Length of Mouth: 4.5 m (15 ft)
Length of Nose: 1.2 m (3.9 ft)
Length of Ear: 10.00 m (32.81 ft)
Length of the First Finger: 7.00 m (22.97 ft)

Inside the statue itself is a four-story building, which serves as a museum.

Level 1, Infinite Light and Infinite Life: The first floor lobby is dark. In the center of the room a single shaft of light shines from above onto a cauldron of smoking incense. Beyond it is the elevator to the other floors.
Level 2 (10.0 m), World of Gratitude and Thankfulness: Mostly dedicated to scriptural studies
Level 3 (20~30.0 m), World of the Lotus Sanctuary: 3000 samples of gold Buddha statues
Level 4 (80~85.0 m), Room of Mt. Grdhrakuta: Also on the fourth floor are windows looking out from the buddha's chest onto the adjacent flower garden and small animal park.