Seen while walking to a tea ceremony at the Kodaiji Temple.
Ryozen Kannon is a war memorial honoring Japanese and Allied soldiers who died in the Pacific during World War II. The statue is the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Kannon - Goddess of Mercy) and made of steel and concrete. It is 80 feet high and weighs approximately 500 tons. It was unveiled in 1955. It is a monument to peace and to the futility and loss of war.
In Buddhism Avalokitesvara (Kannon in English) has been one of the most widely worshiped deities in Japan and embodies compassion and mercy. Avalokitesvara also is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. A Bodhisattva is an enlightened being who is compassionate and wishes to attain Buddhahood for the sake of humanity.
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