Ōfuna is a district on the outskirts of Kamakura, neighboring Yokohama, known for its somewhat surreal sight. Standing above the train station, overlooking the town from up on a wooded hill, is a colossal statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy—an eye-catching icon of the area.
Unlike the more famous Great Buddha of Kamakura, the history of Ōfuna Kannon hardly goes back centuries, but merely decades. Originally conceived of in 1929, the project was soon put on a hiatus by the looming war.
The statue of Byakue (“white-robed”) Kannon was finally completed in 1960 after years of semi-abandonment, and quickly became a local icon due to its size and striking appearance, standing at over 82 feet, with its serene smile visible from the vicinity. A temple was also founded on the site, memorializing the victims of World War II and the atomic bombs.
Today, the statue is an unmistakable symbol of Ōfuna, and the temple is a popular religious destination among visitors from Southeast Asia, as well as Taiwan and Sri Lanka. It has also inspired a mascot character called Non-chan in 2012, a cutesified variant of Kannon bodhisattva.
