The Ushiku Daibutsu



A throng of South East Asian tourists sauntered through the Ushiku Train Station. It was the first week of spring. Every so often you were assaulted by the remnants of the wintry wind. Unfortunately, I was only decked in spring garb and felt the chill as I boarded the bus. Its final stop was the Ushiku Buddha, the largest standing Buddha, which at 120 meters, is in the top three tallest statues in the world.

This 4, 000+ ton structure, which was completed in 1995, was built to commemorate the birth of Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu or “Pure Land School” of Buddhism. This statue, which depicts Amitabha Buddha, had piqued my fancy since I moved to Japan almost two years ago. Furthermore, that it is less than an hour from me, I thought it fitting to visit on arguably the most auspicious, and might I dare say beautiful seasons. It was the time of the cherry blossom, what the Japanese refer to as hanami. During this time, it is customary to view the cherries for the short time they are in bloom, and what better place to do this than that famous Ushiku Buddha.

Located in Ibaraki Prefecture; Ushiku is indeed a very small town. A huge contrast to the bustling Tokyo metropolis that is a little over 50 km away. The streets are rather narrow in Ushiku. This complements the usual placid countenance of the countryside. As with many Japanese small cities, there were the modern building with the few traditional buildings interspersed with shy looking, immaculately kept rectangular houses. The country road twists and turns. At every corner, one waits in anticipation for the colossal structure to meet your gaze, and finally, when you look down for a moment to adjust your camera, you lift your head to find it standing before you; the Ushiku Buddha, dwarfing everything around it. Its domination of the skyline is so absolute that for a moment you forget that there is anything else around; no houses, no cars, no trees; just you and the magnificent structure. You also forget that you are driving until the bus comes to a halt and the driver tells you that it is the final stop.



Along immaculately aligned sidewalks you saunter towards the gate to stare at the beautifully hedged flowers. The 500 yen entry fee is worth it. The path leading directly to the statue is punctuated by a traditional Japanese gate; dark brown and made of wood. On the path; on the way, your eyes reflexively, it seems, glance to your left several times and is eventually held there, transfixed by the pond that sits in the middle of a depression and is highlighted by the cherry blossoms and the other plants that coruscate on that placid evening. Indeed, here is the quintessential image of Japan we see on a great many ukiyo-e prints.

The path to and from the garden goes around in circles that eventually takes you back to where you started. And, as if it endears itself to you, one is taken to another pond, a smaller one this time where ducks and fish swim. How at ease they seem, occupying that similar space. It was late evening when I got to Ushiku, and between the chill of the remnants of winter, and the fact that the Buddha would soon close, and the fact that I may miss my last bus, ushered me inside the four-story museum-like structure.



Before entering, the usher asks visitors to take-off their shoes. Inside, one is greeted by new age music in the dimly lit ground floor. It is called Infinite Light and Infinite Life. In this section, a lone shaft of light shines down on a cauldron of burning incense in front of which some of the Japanese visitors bowed and delivered brief chants and prayers. From there, one takes the elevator to the second floor and step into the World of the Lotus Sanctuary, where instantly you are surrounded by some 3,300 golden Buddhas. For a while, one is enthralled, nonplussed, and even mesmerized by the sheer magnificence of the miniature structures that you forget how many times you circle that floor. But then at the elevator, again, you step inside and realize there is one more floor to visit.

This room is called the World of Gratitude and Thankfulness. Here, you are given the option of practicing your calligraphy using traditional Japanese materials. I bypassed this one though, unfortunately, but if you do visit, I would suggest you not pass up the opportunity to copy, using traditional ink and brush to copy the Sutra Namu Amida Butsa. This little gem states:

“I take refuge in the Amida Buddha.”



Lost in the reverie of this wonderful trip, one almost forgets that it is 15:35, and knowing that the last bus leaves at 16:00, you rush to the station and wait behind the same group of visitors for the bus to take you away from the Ushiku Buddha. And while its appearance was sudden. Its disappearance was not the same. It was a gradual winding down of sorts as the bus sped away. Yes, little by little the great statue became lost behind a wall of green hills, and turns, and corners, and curves that took me back to the train station, where I hopped onto the JR Joban Line Train. The next stop. Home.