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All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan Shinran Statue

Shinran Statue

Hiroshima survivor on Riverside Drive.

New York, New York

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Alex Timian
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The bronze Hiroshima survivor in front of the New York Buddhist Church. (paranoidnotandroid/Flickr)   http://www.flickr.com/photos/paranoidnotan...
Plaques honor the statue’s peculiar history. (redmoondesign/Flickr)   http://www.flickr.com/photos/redmoondesign...
  Michael Busch / Atlas Obscura User
Shinran Shonin statue, New York, 9/23/2022   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
Shinran Shonin statue, New York, 9/23/2022   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
Shinran Shonin statue, New York, 9/23/2022   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
Shinran Shonin statue, New York, 9/23/2022   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
  g9fwhgzkgy / Atlas Obscura User
  Hardwork247 / Atlas Obscura User
  guclunergiz / Atlas Obscura User
  Hardwork247 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In the last 65 years, the Shinran Statue has known two homes. Its latest home is a fenced stoop on Riverside Drive outside of the New York Buddhist Church. But before that, the Shinran Statue stood proudly outside of a temple in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.

More specifically, the statue stood only 1.5 miles from the center of the atomic blast that decimated 70 percent of the buildings in the city and took the lives of 150,000 people. Amazingly, the statue emerged from the explosion unscathed, still standing guard at the burning temple.

Following the war, a Japanese man shipped the statue to New York where it has stayed since 1955. The statue has been free from radiation since it began its stay in the United States and has never posed a danger to visitors.

Today, the 15-foot bronze statue stands as a monument to world peace and the frightening power of the atomic bomb. Its weathered bronze exterior is visible in front of the Buddhist Church, and its amazing legacy is preserved in the nation responsible for its near destruction.

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Accessible on foot from the 103rd Street Station on the 1 train.

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atimian

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reunionswamphen, guclunergiz, Michael Busch, Keri Kilgo...

  • reunionswamphen
  • guclunergiz
  • Michael Busch
  • Keri Kilgo
  • g9fwhgzkgy
  • Hardwork247

Published

June 24, 2011

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Sources
  • Roadside America: Atomic Buddhist Statue: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/24212
  • Eyeflare: Atomic Buddhist Statue, New York City: http://www.eyeflare.com/article/atomic-buddhist-statue-new-york-city/
  • The Weblicist of Manhattan: Shinran Shonin Statue Photos: http://theweblicist.com/wordpress/category/landmarks-buildings-statues-and-monuments/shinran-shonin-statue/
  • Wikipedia: Shinran: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinran
Shinran Statue
331-332 Riverside Drive
New York, New York, 10025
United States
40.801797, -73.97031
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