Nanzoin

The reclining Buddha at Nanzoin was completed in 1995, is about 41 metres long and 11 high, and weighs somewhere around three hundred tonnes in bronze - among the largest bronze statues of any kind in the world. It was built to house relics presented to the temple by Myanmar and Nepal, and the head priest's account of the temple's fortunes afterwards, including a lottery win, is part of the local story. Nanzoin is the first temple of the Sasaguri pilgrimage of eighty-eight sites, and it is a working temple on a wooded hillside with waterfalls, small halls and hundreds of statues along the paths. Visitor numbers grew enough that the temple introduced rules and at one point closed to foreign tour groups over behaviour; signs now ask for quiet, no revealing clothing and no eating in the grounds, and they are meant.

History

The temple once stood on Mount Kōya, but when anti-Buddhist local authorities threatened it in 1886, public outcry led to a decade-long effort to move it to Sasaguri, where it came in 1899 under the priest Hayashi Satoshiun. A chief priest once won the lottery after laying his ticket beside a statue of Daikoku, which gave the temple its name for luck (Wikipedia, Nanzo-in).

The main sights

• A 41-metre reclining Buddha - about three hundred tonnes of bronze, completed in 1995.
• Relic housing - built to hold relics presented by Myanmar and Nepal.
• A hillside pilgrimage site - the first of eighty-eight Sasaguri temples, with waterfalls and statues.
• Posted conduct rules - quiet, modest dress and no eating, introduced after visitor problems.

When to go

All year; weekday mornings. Two hours.

Practical notes

This is a functioning temple, not an attraction - the conduct rules are enforced and visitors have been turned away. The site is on a slope with steps. There is little English signage. Food and drink in the grounds are not permitted.

Nearby

Fukuoka is west; Dazaifu is south-west.

Key facts