HAVE MERCY! Seeing Takasaki's Goddess of Mercy Up Close and Personal!

 Takasaki's Byakue Dai-Kannon (Goddess of Mercy). Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I went all the way out to Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, to visit the 41.8-meter-high Byakue Dai-Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) statue. Aside from the fact that I enjoy seeing large statues, a miniature version of it was built and used in a deleted scene in King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) in which Godzilla passes by it. So it also counts as a Godzilla location.

The statue is quite impressive to see in person. Though it's quite far from Tokyo, I found the trip well worth it. It's interesting to note that the statue is just eight meters short of Godzilla's height in the classic Showa-era films. So if you'd like to have an idea of what it'd be like to see something Godzilla's height, the Goddess of Mercy has you covered.