“A special moment to feel the weight of prayer and time as the Buddha statues emerge after a long time.”
In the spring of March and April 2026, these statues will be unveiled in various regions across Japan. Travel and experience the local lands and temples while viewing these hidden Buddha statues that are normally not available to the public.
*Dates, visiting hours, admission fees, etc. may be subject to change, so please be sure to check the official information of each temple, shrine, local government, etc. before visiting. Popular exhibitions may be crowded and numbered tickets may be distributed, so please allow plenty of time when visiting.
March 2026 Buddhist Statues and Temple Events in Japan
March 1 (Sat) – Ryukakuji Temple: Principal Image – Yakushi Nyorai seated statue (Chiba Prefecture)
March 1 (Sun) – March 31 (Tue) – Daianji Temple: Bato Kannon Bosatsu standing statue (Nara Prefecture)
March 1 (Sun) – June 30 (Tue) – Tōshōdaiji Temple: Special opening of the new treasure hall (Nara City)
March 3 (Tue) – Entoku-in Temple (Kyoto Prefecture)
March 3 (Tue) – March 12 (Thu) – Obitokeji Temple (Nara Prefecture)
March 6 (Fri) – Kongo-fuji Temple: Principal Image – Sanmen Senju Kannon Bosatsu standing statue (Kochi Prefecture)
March 8 (Sun) – Chosho-ji Temple: Imo Kannon Grand Opening & Festival (Kanagawa Prefecture)
March 9 (Mon) – Jigen-ji Temple: Shō Kannon Bosatsu (Nara Prefecture)
March 12 (Thu) – Yakuoji Temple: Enku carved Buddha statues (Saitama Prefecture)
March 12 (Thu) – Denkō-ji Temple: Jizo Bosatsu standing statue (Nara Prefecture)
March 14 (Sat) – March 22 (Sun) – Anyoji Temple: Amida Nyorai standing statue (Nara Prefecture)
March 15 (Sun) – Kōkyū-ji Temple: Nikko Bosatsu & Gekko Bosatsu standing statues (Nagano Prefecture)
March 15 (Sun) – Eihō-ji Temple (Gifu Prefecture)
March 15 (Sun) – Ryōhō-ji Temple: Three-dimensional Nirvana group (Wakayama Prefecture)
March 15 (Sun) – July 6 (Mon) – Hase-dera Temple (Nara Prefecture)
March 17 (Tue) – Ryūhō-ji Temple: Senju Kannon standing statue (Kanagawa Prefecture)
March 17 (Tue) – March 19 (Thu) – Ichigon-ji Temple: Gozendai Senju Kannon Bosatsu (Kyoto City)
March 18 (Wed) – April 18 (Sat) – Hase-dera Temple: Full-body public viewing of the principal image (Kanagawa Prefecture)
March 19 (Thu) – Myōan-ji Temple: Kamioka Bato Kannon (Saitama Prefecture)
March 20 (Fri) – Hōdō-ji Temple: Shuten Jizō seated statue (Niigata City)
March 20 (Fri) – Yōkō-ji Temple: Principal Image – Yakushi Nyorai seated statue (Kanagawa Prefecture)
March 20 (Fri) – Kosaka Kannon-in: Principal Image – Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu (Nagano Prefecture)
March 20 (Fri) – April 7 (Tue) – Hōkiji Temple: Principal Image – Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu standing statue (Nara Prefecture)
March 20 – April 19 (Weekends & Public Holidays) – Kōon-ji Temple (Osaka Prefecture)
March 21 (Sat) – Kyūbakei Kannon: Once-in-12-years public viewing of the principal Bato Kannon Bosatsu (Wakayama Prefecture)
March 23 (Mon) – April 7 (Tue) – Kairyūō-ji Temple: Principal Image – Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu standing statue (Nara City)
March 24 (Tue) – May 6 (Wed) – Kinpusen-ji Temple: Principal Image – Kongō Zao Daigongen (Nara Prefecture)
March 25 (Wed) – June 2 (Tue) – Shōkoku-ji & Kōgen-in (Kyoto City)
March 28 (Sat) – April 8 (Wed) – Sakuramotobō Temple: Shaka Nyorai seated statue (Nara Prefecture)
March 29 (Sun) – Iiyama Kongō-ji Temple: Amida Nyorai seated statue (Kanagawa Prefecture)
In March, pilgrimage sites in Chiba and Saitama will hold the 12-year once public viewing of the Horse Year (Uma-doshi) statues.
March 28 (Sat) – April 18 (Sat) – Awa Koku Fuda Kannon Pilgrimage (Chiba Prefecture)
https://awa-junrei.jp/archives/512/
March 18 (Wed) – November 30 (Mon) – Chichibu Pilgrimage Sites (Saitama Prefecture)
https://navi.city.chichibu.lg.jp/p_shrine/961/
April 2026 Buddhist Statues and Temple Events in Japan
April 1 (Wed) – April 7 (Tue) – Tsu Kannon: Principal Image – Shō Kannon Bosatsu
April 1 (Wed) – May 31 (Sun) – Gansen-ji Temple: Special opening of secret treasures and hidden Buddhas
April 1 (Wed) – May 31 (Sun) – Seiryō-ji Temple: Special opening of the Reihōkan Treasure Hall
April 1 (Wed) – November 30 (Mon) – Shōfuku-ji Temple: Bato Kannon Bosatsu
April 2 (Thu) – Kongo-fuji Temple: Principal Image – Sanmen Senju Kannon Bosatsu standing statue
April 3 (Fri) – Jōfuku-ji Temple: Principal Image – Five Great Myōō
April 3 (Fri) – Saimei-ji Temple: Bishamonten standing statue
April 4 (Sat) – April 5 (Sun) – Shōbō-ji Temple: Amida Nyorai seated statue
April 5 (Sun) – Shōkaku-in Temple: Shaka Nyorai standing statue
April 5 (Sun) – Enpuku-ji Temple: Mandala Hall
April 5 (Sun) – Yakushidō: Copper standing Yakushi Nyorai statue
April 5 (Sun) – Asakawa Fudō: Fudō Myōō seated statue
April 5 (Sun) – Zenmyō-ji Temple: Public viewing
April 5 (Sun) – Rinkō-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai seated statue
April 5 (Sun) – Zuiryū-ji Temple: Juichimen Kannon standing statue
April 5 (Sun) – Satani Kenshō-ji Temple: Juichimen Kannon standing statue
April 5 (Sun) – Satani Kenshō-ji (Kannon Hall): Juichimen Kannon standing statue
April 7 (Tue) – April 8 (Wed) – Gokuraku-ji Temple: Principal Image – Seiryō-ji-style Shaka Nyorai standing statue
April 8 (Wed) – Dai-en-ji Temple: Shaka Nyorai standing statue
April 8 (Wed) – April 15 (Wed) – Yakuō-in Temple: Principal Image – Yakushi Nyorai
April 8 (Wed) – Iwaya-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai
April 8 (Wed) – Tōun-ji Temple: Substitute Jizō & Shōkan Yakushi
April 8 (Wed) – Kōen-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai
April 8 (Wed) – Shinpuku-ji Temple: Shaka Nyorai standing statue
April 8 (Wed) – Eitai-ji Temple: Seiryō-ji-style Shaka Nyorai standing statue
April 8 (Wed) – Kanzō-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai
April 8 (Wed) – Nanrin-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai
April 9 (Thu) – Taizan-ji Temple: Senju Kannon Bosatsu in Kannon Hall
April 10 (Fri) – April 20 (Mon) – Hōjō-in Temple: Juichimen Kannon / 12-year once viewing
April 11 (Sat) – May 18 (Mon) – Hōryū-ji Temple: Yumedono Hall – Kannon of Salvation
April 12 (Sun) – Chōfuku-ji Temple: Kannon of Salvation
April 12 (Sun) – Seiganto-ji Temple: Principal Image – Nyorai Rinne Kannon Bosatsu
April 12 (Sun) & 17 (Thu) – Jikō-ji Temple: Juichimen Senju Sengen Kannon Bosatsu
April 12 (Sun) – April 19 (Sun) – Iitaka Kannon Manshō-ji Temple: Senju Kannon Bosatsu
April 15 (Wed) – Fukutoku-ji Temple: Iron Amida Triad standing statue
April 15 (Wed) – Hyūga Yakushi Hōjō-bō: Yakushi Nyorai Triad
April 15 (Wed) – Hōrin-ji Temple
April 15 (Wed) – April 17 (Fri) – Hōju-in Temple: Daibenzaiten for Good Fortune and Success
April 15 (Wed) – April 21 (Tue) – Sōji-ji Temple: Senju Kannon Bosatsu
April 17 (Fri) – Jōfuku-ji Temple: Senju Kannon
April 17 (Fri) – Senshō-ji Temple: Gilded Amida Nyorai standing statue
April 17 (Fri) – Hōgon-ji Temple: Juichimen Senju Sengen Kannon Bosatsu
April 17 (Fri) & 18 (Sat) – Ofusa Kannon: Juichimen Kannon
April 17 (Fri) & 18 (Sat) – Kanshin-ji Temple: Nyoirin Kannon Bosatsu seated statue
April 17 (Fri) – April 19 (Sun) – Ichigon-ji Temple: Gozendai Senju Kannon Bosatsu
April 17 (Fri) – May 7 (Thu) – Daikōzen-ji Temple: Juichimen Kannon / 12-year once viewing
April 18 (Sat) – Hōjō-ji Temple: Shō Kannon Bosatsu
April 18 (Sat) – Shōbō-ji Temple: Shō Kannon / 12-year once viewing
April 18 (Sat) – Mie-ji Temple: Juichimen Kannon standing statue
April 18 (Sat) – May 8 (Fri) – Shōryaku-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai, etc.
April 19 (Sun) – Myōan-ji Temple: Kamioka Bato Kannon / 12-year once viewing
April 19 (Sun) – Shippōtaki-ji Temple: Juichimen Kannon Bosatsu
April 19 (Sun) – May 10 (Sun) – Kunino-dera Temple: Special viewing of the principal image
April 19 (Sun) – Tokusei-ji Temple: Kokūzō Bosatsu
April 19 (Sun) – Gokuraku-ji Temple: Senju Kannon
April 19 (Sun) & 20 (Mon) – Kōden-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai & Monju Bosatsu, etc.
April 20 (Mon) – May 10 (Sun) – Sai-daiji Temple: Special opening of the Shuhōkan Treasure Hall
April 21 (Tue) – Tōkō-ji Temple: Gilded Amida Nyorai with attendants / Amida Nyorai standing statue
April 21 (Tue) & 22 (Wed) – Daihigan-ji Temple: Triad of Amida Nyorai
April 25 (Sat) – 29 (Wed, holiday) – Senryū-ji Temple: Great Fudō Myōō / 24-year once viewing
April 25 (Sat) – May 5 (Tue, holiday) – Mibu-dera Temple: Jizō Bosatsu standing statue
April 25 (Sat) – May 31 (Sun) – Eizan-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai seated statue
April 25 (Sat) – Funayado-ji Temple: Yakushi Nyorai seated statue
April 26 (Sun) – Kōki-ji Temple: Benzaiten
April 26 (Sun) – May 11 (Mon) – Fukū-in Temple
April 25 (Sat) – May 17 (Sun) – Ishiyama-dera Temple
April 25 (Sat) – May 17 (Sun) – Miidera Temple
April 26 (Sun) – May 10 (Sun) – Kōfuku-ji Temple: Special opening of the North Octagonal Hall
April 28 (Tue) – Chikurin-ji Temple: Kasayama Kōjin Shrine Grand Festival, Treasure Hall opening
April 28 (Tue) – Chinkoku-ji Temple: Substitute Fudō Myōō standing statue
April 29 (Wed, holiday) – Zuikō-in Temple: Living mummified ascetic (Gyōnin-sama)
In April, pilgrimage sites in Kanagawa will hold the 12-year once public viewing of the Horse Year (Uma-doshi) statues, as well as the Miura Peninsula 33 Kannon Pilgrimage.
◾️こちらの文を英訳すると以下のようになります：
April 10 (Fri) – 30 (Thu) – Chichibu Kannon Pilgrimage: Horse Year (Uma-doshi) 12-year Public Viewing (Kanagawa Prefecture)
https://junchichibu34.wixsite.com/index
It is a pilgrimage site consisting of 34 temples, hermitages, and halls scattered across the eastern and central parts of Kawasaki City and the northeastern part of Yokohama City, situated between the Tama and Tsurumi Rivers. Each temple is called a “fudasho” and belongs to different Buddhist sects, enshrining different forms of Kannon. Many pilgrims visit these sites to pray for the protection and blessings of Kannon.
◾️April 18 (Sat) – May 18 (Mon) – Miura Peninsula 33 Kannon: Main Public Viewing (Kanagawa Prefecture)
http://www.m33k.net/index.html
On the scenic and mild Miura Peninsula, thirty-three Kannon statues have long been believed to protect the local people. In the Year of the Horse (2014), the Miura 33 Kannon Pilgrimage Association will hold the main public viewing for the first time in 12 years, from April 18 to May 18. A solemn ritual will be conducted to open the statues for worship, praying for everlasting world peace and the well-being of all visitors.
The public viewings held at temples across Japan offer a rare opportunity—occurring only once every few years or even decades—to see hidden Buddhist statues, making them extremely valuable events. In addition to those listed here, there are likely other temples and shrines holding such viewings.
We invite you to visit Japan, experience its rich culture and history, and enjoy a truly fulfilling and memorable journey.