is a statue located in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Completed in 1993, it stands a total of tall, including the base and 10 m lotus platform. It held the record for the tallest statue from 1993 to 2008 and , it is the fifth-tallest statue in the world.

An elevator takes visitors up 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.

right|270px|thumb|View of Kuno Castle (久野城) ruins along with the Ushiku Daibutsu

Construction

<!-- Copied and commented out to translate: from :ja:牛久大仏#構造 as of 08:01, 23 January 2022 (UTC) by Y-route.<nowiki>== 構造 ==</nowiki> -->

Construction was commissioned to , applying .

First, a cast iron steel column was erected at the center supporting the weight of the entire Daibutsu. Then, arranging a steel frame structure around it which was pre-assembled on the ground block by block in advance.

The tall torso, or body, of the statue was divided into 20 tiers, with each tier consisting of 17 blocks on average. In addition, each component block had welded on nine bronze sheets, and around 6 millimeters thick, on a steel frame. Those steel frames connected to the main frame as branches of a tree do, forming a complicated outline. The bronze sheets are much lighter compared to that of the Great Buddha at Tōdai-ji temple in Nara, since the one at Ushiku applies a steel frame to support the structure. The elaborate design of each hand and arm was also assembled on the ground, then attached on the body with a huge crane lifting each parts.<!-- <nowiki>像の表面には、これを覆うための6,000枚以上の青銅板が用いられている--><!--横浜市の放送ライブラリーで番組を実際に視聴の上確認。 https://www.bpcj.or.jp/search/show_detail.php?program=164398 --><!--。そのため、像の表面を注意深く見れば正方形のタイル状の継ぎ目を確かめることができる。これらブロックの継ぎ目部分には隙間があり、台風や地震、気象変化による板金の伸び縮みに対して構造上の余裕を持たせる役目を果たしている。

More than 6,000 bronze plates are used on the surface of the statue to cover it -> <!-Check the program after actually watching it in the Yokohama City Broadcast Library. https://www.bpcj.or.jp/search/show_detail.php?program=164398-> <!-. Therefore, if you look carefully at the surface of the image, you can see the square tile-shaped seams. There is a gap in the seam of these blocks, which serves to provide a structural margin for the expansion and contraction of sheet metal due to typhoons, earthquakes, and climate change.

大仏の胸部にあたる地上85メートルまではエレベーター（日立ビルシステム製）でのぼることが可能で、周囲の景色を展望することができる。ただし、像自体の美観の問題から広々とした展望台は設けられておらず、胸部からの景色はスリット状に設けられた小窓から見ることになる。

An elevator takes visitors up to above the ground, to the chest of the Great Buddha. It is possible to climb and see the surrounding scenery. However, due to the design of the statue, there is no spacious observatory, and the view from the chest can be seen through a small window provided in the shape of a slit.

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Details

  • Weight:
  • Length of left hand:
  • Length of face:
  • Length of eye:
  • Length of mouth:
  • Length of nose:
  • Length of ear:
  • Length of the first finger:

Inside the statue itself is a four-storey 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 m), World of Gratitude and Thankfulness : Mostly dedicated to scriptural studies

; Level 3 (20–30 m), World of the Lotus Sanctuary : 3,000 samples of gold Buddha statues

; Level 4 (80–85 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.

Panoramic view

center|thumb|420x420px|Cherry Blossoms at the Ushiku Daibutsu grounds (Photo from 2018)

See also

  • Daibutsu
  • Kōtoku-in, temple in Kamakura, home to second largest seated bronze Buddha statue in Japan.
  • Tōdai-ji, temple in Nara, home to second largest seated bronze Buddha statue in Japan. The largest being the Great Showa Buddha located in Aomori prefecture standing at 21 m
  • Leshan Giant Buddha in China, the tallest stone Buddha sculpture in the world.
  • Tian Tan Buddha, located in Hong Kong, world's tallest seated Buddha statue.
  • List of tallest statues, many of which are Buddhist statues

References

  • Tallest statues by Reuters