{"id":62121,"date":"2026-07-22T06:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T06:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/62121\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T06:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T06:40:16","slug":"why-theres-an-11-meter-goddess-inside-this-tokyo-department-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/62121\/","title":{"rendered":"Why There’s an 11-Meter Goddess Inside This Tokyo Department Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not generally a fan of department stores. They\u2019re proliferating in Tokyo, knocking down local history and flavor to replace it with big-box sameness. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ll make an exception, however, for a department store that bears its own distinct history and style. Mitsukoshi, in Tokyo\u2019s Nihonbashi neighborhood, fits this bill. Mitsukoshi is more than just a snapshot of Meiji-era modernization. It\u2019s also the home of an 11-meter-tall unnamed goddess who looks out kindly over shoppers as they peruse necklaces and facial cream. <\/p>\n

Just who (or what) is this figure? And who\u2019s the beautiful madman who created her?<\/p>\n

An unnamed goddess carved from a 500-year-old tree <\/p>\n

\"ThePicture: Jay Allen \/ Unseen Japan<\/p>\n

Mitsukoshi\u2019s history dates back far before the Meiji period. The iconic shopping mall began in 1673 as Echigoya (\u8d8a\u5f8c\u5c4b), a dry-goods store opened in Edo\u2019s Nihonbashi by the merchant Mitsui Takatoshi (\u4e09\u4e95\u9ad8\u5229). Its big innovation? It sold everything at fixed prices, doing away with haggling. It also cut cloth to order rather than selling it by the bolt. For the first time, Echigoya made fashion accessible to the common person.<\/p>\n

Echigoya would grow from these humble beginnings to become the Mitsui banking and real estate empire. In 1904, the company reorganized as Mitsukoshi Gofukuten and sent customers its \u201cDepartment Store Declaration.\u201d From that year on, the newly-christened Mitsukoshi would be a department store on the American and European model. It was the first (but hardly the last) Western department store in Japan.<\/p>\n

The declaration fit the times. After the fall of the shogunate<\/a>, Japan embarked on a rapid push for modernization modeled largely after Western norms. Neighboring Ginza<\/a> would become the economic centerpiece of this push, serving as the home of the metropolis\u2019 newspapers and modern cafes. <\/p>\n

Goddess, delayed <\/p>\n

\"RenaissancePicture: Jay Allen \/ Unseen Japan<\/p>\n

Mitsukoshi opened its flagship Nihonbashi store on September 15, 1914. It announced luxury through architecture: a five-story central hall ringed by Corinthian marble columns under a skylight. <\/p>\n

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46 years later, this atrium would become the home of the goddess who overlooks it today. Mitsukoshi commissioned it from woodcarver Sat\u014d Gengen (\u4f50\u85e4\u7384\u3005) in 1951, giving him two years to finish it. <\/p>\n

Born into a family of shrine carvers in Fukushima, Sat\u014d came to Tokyo in 1906 to study under the woodcarver Yamazaki Ch\u014dun. He joined the revived Japan Art Institute\u2019s sculpture section and had his first major show in 1914. He studied under Antoine Bourdelle, a former assistant to Rodin, in France from 1922 to 1924 under a government scholarship. <\/p>\n

Sat\u014d would go on to join the Imperial Art Academy and the Japan Art Academy. His bronze statue of Wake no Kiyomaro (\u548c\u6c17\u6e05\u9ebb\u5442\u50cf, 1940)\u00a0stands near the Imperial Palace moat by Takebashi. <\/p>\n

The statue was intended to commemorate the department store\u2019s 50th anniversary in 1954, and serve as a symbol of the store\u2019s philosophy of magokoro (\u771f\u5fc3), or sincerity. Sat\u014d, however, wouldn\u2019t complete the project until 1960. By then, the cost had ballooned to somewhere between hundreds of thousands to the low millions USD. <\/p>\n

The project was an expensive labor of love. Sat\u014d worked on it in a dedicated studio in My\u014dshin-ji in Kyoto, working slowly through concepts, designs, and trial carvings. The project ultimately consumed over 100,000 craftsperson-days of time to complete. <\/p>\n

Related Reads<\/p>\n

Who is she?<\/p>\n

\"Close-upPicture: Jay Allen \/ Unseen Japan<\/p>\n

Carved from a single 500-year-old block of wood, the goddess is stunning in both detail and scale. She\u2019s as elegant and awe-inspiring as she is mysterious. <\/p>\n

For his part, the enigmatic artist didn\u2019t deign to explain his work. At her unveiling, Sat\u014d Gengen rose to the podium, said, \u201cI am Sat\u014d,\u201d and promptly sat back down. <\/p>\n

In broader terms, the statue represents a tennyo (\u5929\u5973), a class of goddesses inhabiting the highest of the six realms of Buddhism, the tennin (\u5929\u4eba), or Realm of Heavenly Beings. These figures aren\u2019t permanent; in Buddhism, even the heavenly beings age and die. Their realm, while at the top of creation, is still subject to the samsaric wheel of life and death. <\/p>\n

Many visitors assume the statue represents Kannon (\u89b3\u97f3), the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion. In fact, she doesn\u2019t represent any specific goddess. Neither Sat\u014d nor Mitsukoshi ever gave her a firm identity. Her status as a tennyo makes her more akin to Kichij\u014dten\u00a0(\u5409\u7965\u5929, goddess of fortune and beauty, descended from the Indian Lakshmi) or Gigeiten (\u4f0e\u82b8\u5929, goddess of the arts).<\/p>\n

From Mitsukoshi\u2019s standpoint, the figure represents sincerity. The store glosses it as \u5927\u548c\u5fc3 (Yamato-gokoro), the native Japanese spirit. Her \u201cbackstory,\u201d in Mitsukoshi\u2019s view, is corporate and philosophical, not mythological.<\/p>\n

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Sat\u014d was aiming, however, for something higher. His teacher Antoine Bourdelle reportedly sent him home from France with a singular charge: \u201cWith your own blood, create the soul of your homeland.\u201d <\/p>\n

What Sat\u014d carved is an instant rather than a named goddess\u2019s tale. It depicts a heavenly maiden wrapped in auspicious clouds (\u745e\u96f2, zuiun) at the moment she alights on the pistil of a flower, with 48 birds worked into the clouds behind her. It\u2019s Sat\u014d\u2019s attempt at reviving mythological sculpture in the modern, postwar era. <\/p>\n

Serious \u201cFinal Boss\u201d energy<\/p>\n

\"AngledPicture: Jay Allen \/ Unseen Japan<\/p>\n

The lack of a definitive mythology means that the statue has become a vessel for people\u2019s hopes and desires. During the COVID-19 pandemic, staffers at Mitsukoshi reported people coming to pray for a swift end to the pandemic. (Well done, Holy Mother.)<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also had her moments of virality in the Internet age. In 2021, gamers stood in awe of her \u201cfinal boss\u201d energy<\/a>, likening her to the god-like beings one fights at the end of popular games such as Final Fantasy or Bayonetta. <\/p>\n

\"Tweet<\/p>\n

The goddess isn\u2019t the only vaunted figure at Mitsukoshi, either. The pair of bronze lions installed at the entrance in 1914 were modeled on the lions at the foot of Nelson\u2019s Column in London\u2019s Trafalgar Square. <\/p>\n

They became a Tokyo landmark and a favorite meeting spot, and they carry a piece of folklore of their own. Straddle a lion\u2019s back without anyone seeing you, the saying goes, and your wish will come true. The lions are very popular at exam time, when students hope a little light tomfoolery will offset their lack of test prep. (Tourists: please don\u2019t get any ideas.)<\/p>\n

It might seem silly to some to pray to a department store goddess. Maybe it is. But I find a strange sort of solace in knowing that, even in the age of AI, a monument to sincerity can still inspire devotion. <\/p>\n

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\tSources<\/p>\n

\u77e5\u3063\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u304b\uff1f \u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u4e09\u8d8a\u672c\u5e97\u672c\u9928\u306e\u30db\u30fc\u30eb\u306b\u3042\u308b\u300c\u5929\u5973\u50cf\u300d\u3068\u3001\u5f6b\u523b\u5bb6\u30fb\u4f50\u85e4\u7384\u3005\u306e\u3053\u3068\u3002 \u3055\u3093\u305f\u3064 by \u6563\u6b69\u306e\u9054\u4eba<\/a><\/p>\n

\u5929\u5973\uff08\u307e\u3054\u3053\u308d\uff09\u50cf \u4e09\u8d8a\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u672c\u5e97<\/a><\/p>\n

\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u4e09\u8d8a\u672c\u5e97 \u5929\u5973\u50cf \u4e09\u4e95\u5e83\u5831\u59d4\u54e1\u4f1a<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4f50\u85e4\u7384\u3005 \u30a6\u30a3\u30ad\u30da\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2\uff08\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u7248\uff09<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4f50\u85e4\u7384\u3005\uff08\u671d\u5c71\uff09 \u6771\u4eac\u56fd\u7acb\u8fd1\u4ee3\u7f8e\u8853\u9928 (MOMAT)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u5929\u5973\uff08\u307e\u3054\u3053\u308d\uff09\u50cf \u4f50\u85e4\u7384\u3005\u4f5c\uff08\u6771\u4eac\u90fd\u4e2d\u592e\u533a\uff09 \u671d\u65e5\u30de\u30ea\u30aa\u30f3\u30fb\u30b3\u30e0<\/a><\/p>\n

[vol.15] \u6975\u5f69\u8272\u306e\u5230\u9054\u70b9 \u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u4e09\u8d8a\u306b\u964d\u308a\u7acb\u3063\u305f\u5929\u5973\u50cf \u30c7\u30a3\u30b9\u30ab\u30d0\u30fc\u3075\u304f\u3057\u307e in TOKYO\uff08\u798f\u5cf6\u770c\u6771\u4eac\u4e8b\u52d9\u6240\uff09\/ note<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4f50\u85e4\u7384\u3005\u907a\u4f5c\u54c1 \u76f8\u99ac\u5e02\u516c\u5f0f\u30db\u30fc\u30e0\u30da\u30fc\u30b8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u4e09\u8d8a\u306b\u300c\u30e9\u30b9\u30dc\u30b9\u611f\u300d\u534a\u7aef\u306a\u3044\u5929\u5973\u50cf \u6539\u3081\u3066\u898b\u308b\u3068\u3001\u7cbe\u5de7\u3059\u304e\u3066\u300c\u9ce5\u808c\u300d J\u30bf\u30a6\u30f3\u30cd\u30c3\u30c8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u4e09\u8d8a\u306e\u5929\u5973\u50cf\u306e\u88cf\u5074\u306b\u306f\u30c7\u30d1\u30fc\u30c8\u306e\u4e2d\u3068\u306f\u601d\u3048\u306a\u3044\u795e\u696d\u304c\u5e83\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u308b Togetter<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4e09\u8d8a\u672c\u5e97\u306e\u5929\u5973\u50cf\u306e\u610f\u5473\u3059\u308b\u3082\u306e \u96c0\u306e\u304a\u5bbf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u307e\u3054\u3053\u308d(\u5929\u5973)\u50cf\u30d7\u30ed\u30b8\u30a7\u30af\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3\u30de\u30c3\u30d4\u30f3\u30b0 \u4e09\u8d8a \u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u672c\u5e97<\/a><\/p>\n

\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u4e09\u8d8a\u672c\u5e97 \u307e\u3054\u3053\u308d\u5929\u5973\u30d7\u30ed\u30b8\u30a7\u30af\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3\u30de\u30c3\u30d4\u30f3\u30b0 \u521d\u516c\u958b\uff01 \u4e09\u8d8a\u4f0a\u52e2\u4e39\u30db\u30fc\u30eb\u30c7\u30a3\u30f3\u30b0\u30b9 \/ PR TIMES<\/a><\/p>\n

\u5929\u5973 \u30a6\u30a3\u30ad\u30da\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2\uff08\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u7248\uff09<\/a><\/p>\n

Celestial Beings in Japanese Buddhism: Apsaras, Tennin, Tennyo, Hiten and Karyobinga onmarkproductions.com (Mark Schumacher)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u9cf3\u51f0\u5802 \u96f2\u4e2d\u4f9b\u990a\u83e9\u85a9\u50cf \u5e73\u7b49\u9662<\/a><\/p>\n

\u85ac\u5e2b\u5bfa\u5409\u7965\u5929\u50cf \u30a6\u30a3\u30ad\u30da\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2\uff08\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u7248\uff09<\/a><\/p>\n

\u7dad\u6469\u7d4c \u30a6\u30a3\u30ad\u30da\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2\uff08\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u7248\uff09<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4e09\u4fdd\u677e\u539f\u306e\u7fbd\u8863\u4f1d\u8aac \u9759\u5ca1\u5e02\uff08\u4e09\u4fdd\u677e\u539f\uff09<\/a><\/p>\n

\u5929\u4eba\u4e94\u8870 \u30a6\u30a3\u30ad\u30da\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2\uff08\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u7248\uff09<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4e09\u8d8a\u306e\u3042\u3086\u307f\uff08\u767e\u8ca8\u5e97\u4e8b\u696d\u306e\u3042\u3086\u307f\uff09 \u4e09\u8d8a\u4f0a\u52e2\u4e39\u30db\u30fc\u30eb\u30c7\u30a3\u30f3\u30b0\u30b9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u65e5\u672c\u521d\u306e\u767e\u8ca8\u5e97\u3001\u4e09\u8d8a\u306e\u306f\u3058\u307e\u308a \/ \u8d8a\u5f8c\u5c4b\u8a95\u751f\u3068\u9ad8\u5229\u306e\u65b0\u5546\u6cd5 \u4e09\u4e95\u5e83\u5831\u59d4\u54e1\u4f1a<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4e09\u8d8a\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u672c\u5e97 \u30a6\u30a3\u30ad\u30da\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2\uff08\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u7248\uff09<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4e09\u8d8a\u306e\u30e9\u30a4\u30aa\u30f3\u50cf \u30a6\u30a3\u30ad\u30da\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2\uff08\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u7248\uff09<\/a><\/p>\n

\u30d1\u30a4\u30d7\u30aa\u30eb\u30ac\u30f3 \u4e09\u8d8a\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b\u672c\u5e97<\/a><\/p>\n

Ginza history: the Bricktown, the 1872 fire, Thomas Waters GINZA OFFICIAL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4e2d\u592e\u533a\u306e\u6b74\u53f2 \/ \u5546\u696d\u767a\u5c55\u53f2 \u4e2d\u592e\u533a\u89b3\u5149\u5354\u4f1a<\/a><\/p>\n

\u8fd1\u4ee3\u306e\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b \uff5e\u6210\u9577\u3068\u8870\u9000\uff5e \u307e\u3061\u65e5\u672c\u6a4b<\/a><\/p>\n

How Tokyo\u2019s department stores got their big start Japan Today<\/a><\/p>\n

Bank of Japan Headquarters (Tatsuno Kingo, 1896) Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n

Ginza Bricktown and the Myth of Meiji Modernization (Tristan R. Grunow) Meiji at 150 (UBC)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m not generally a fan of department stores. They\u2019re proliferating in Tokyo, knocking down local history and flavor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1406,867,4308,2287,8,23154,1216,2082,52],"class_list":["post-62121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tokyo","tag-architecture","tag-art","tag-buddhism","tag-history","tag-japan","tag-meiji-era","tag-religion","tag-shopping","tag-tokyo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}