Giant Kannon statues fall into disrepair

An NHK feature on Japan's giant Kannon statues dotting the Japanese countryside. Built in the Bubble Era and donated to municipalities, many are now falling into disrepair, further burdening local communities.

"At first, giant Kannon statues were built to console the souls of the war dead and promote faith," notes Tsugawa. "But those built by businesspeople during the 1980s were about being bigger and taller. They were passionate about the construction and didn't think about the future." Tsugawa says statues are expensive to maintain and dismantle. Unless they have a strong spiritual meaning, local communities' connections with the landmarks will eventually fade.

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The demolition of the World Peace Dai-Kannon in Ishikawa cost some 900 m JPY.

The World Peace Dai-Kannon statue was built by a real estate tycoon on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, in 1982. It was 100 meters tall, including the pedestal upon which it stood. After he and his wife died, the structure and its facilities were closed and abandoned. The statue became a hazard as its interior ceiling and outer layers fell apart. The government took action in 2020 in a complicated process. The Kinki Local Finance Bureau nationalized the statue based on a legal provision for assets with no heirs. The bureau then demolished and removed the statue at a cost of around 900 million yen.

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Find more information on the largest (historical) Buddha statues and some of the concrete Kannon monuments here:

The one in Fukui is definitely past its prime. Not recently, but we've gone by it on the train now and then, and it was clearly deteriorating.

I'd call it a 'white elephant', which, my dictionary browsing says is: 無用の長物 【むようのちょうぶつ】 useless object; deadwood; white elephant; boondoggle.

Boondoggle might be a better word for these statues?

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The university I went to had a performing arts center gifted/bequeathed to it by a famous architect alumnus. Like a small square block, nice central location, three variously sized theaters/halls, great underground parking under it all, and lots of garden/lounging areas in the surrounding outdoors.

Turned out to quickly start falling apart and needing repairs--to the extent of having to almost rebuild lots of it. Which cost a fortune. The rules and approval process for what kind of things like that that the university could accept, and what kind of endowment needed to be attached, were quickly updated.

It looks like they didn't build them to last like in olden times. The Kamakura and Nara Daibutsu are still in great shape after nearly 8 and 13 centuries, respectively!