Hiroshima Survivor

Outside the New York Buddhist Church on Riverside Drive stands a 15-ft, 22-ton bronze figure in missionary robes, his face eclipsed by a hat. The statue is of Shinran Shonin, who, according to the Church’s website, founded Shin Buddhism in the 1200’s in Japan, with an emphasis on listening, being open, living with gratitude and appreciating life. This monument had a providential escape from likely destruction during the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima.  From a close range, it saw the demolition of 70 percent of Hiroshima’s buildings, and the loss of approximately 150,000 people, when the US B-29 Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb that August. Yet, standing only a mile and a half from the center of the blast, it remained unharmed.

In 1955, the statue was donated to the New York Buddhist Church. Its plaque reads  “a testimonial to the atomic bomb devastation and a symbol of lasting hope for world peace.” According to Atlas Obscura, the statue “has been free from radiation since it began its stay in the United States, and has never posed a danger to visitors”. The monument can be seen on Riverside Drive between 105th and 106th Streets.