Welcome to Sendai’s Big Buddha! Reaching 100 meters (330 feet) into the sky, Sendai’s Daikannon Statue looks over the city with a watchful, protective eye. Kannon is the representation of the Japanese Buddhist Bodhisattva, the Goddess of Mercy. This particular statue is the tallest Kannon in Japan and the tenth-tallest statue in the world! She is officially known as Sendai Tendou Byakue Daikannon (仙台天道白衣大観音), gaining her name from her white-robbed bodhisattva form. She holds a wish-fulfilling jewel in her right hand and in her left, a water flask pours the water of wisdom. You will get a good chance to appreciate her magnitude and presence.

We will meet back up after lunch to journey on toward the mountain entrance of Yamadera Temple, or as it is known by its formal title, Risshaku-ji. At the foot of the mountain entrance, you can take some time to observe the nationally designated important cultural property of Konponchudo, the statue of internationally renowned haiku poet Matsuo Basho, and various other spiritually significant temple structures. Matsuo Basho made his pilgrimage to Yamadera over 350 years ago during his Oku no Hosomichi (“Narrow Road to the Deep North”) travels. His remarks of Yamadera Temple were written as such: shizukasa ya / iwa ni shimiiru / semi no koe (閑さや岩にしみ入る蝉の声). It roughly translates to: such stillness / the shrill of cicadas / seeps into the rocks. Basho’s lingering poetic prose still leaves a deep impression on those who visit the temple and bask in its tranquility today.