#3: Big Brother Buddha — January 3, 2013

Today we took the Manga University Daibutsu to Jorenji, a centuries-old temple on the historic Nakasendo road through Tokyo’s Itabashi district. Visiting a temple during the New Year's holiday break is an important Japanese tradition called hatsumode. We figured our daibutsu would enjoy having his hatsumode at Jorenji.

Why? Because Jorenji is the home of the Tokyo Daibutsu, of which ours is a pint-sized replica. The Tokyo Daibutsu giant stands 42 feet tall, making it the third largest of its kind in all of Japan. In addition, Jorenji also has a stately pagoda, a shimmering pool of golden koi fish, and stone statues of the Shichifukujin (Seven Gods of Good Fortune).

We hope you too have a chance to visit Jorenji someday!