Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Colors and volumes in the patio.
Monterrey’s Contemporary Art Museum (MARCO)
Inside Wonderwerk Caves, underground caves and excavation, Kuruman, Northern Cape
Wonderwerk Cave
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
This set is inspired by a Roman arena.
Bozdağ Film Platolari
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The truth is out there—somewhere.
The Truth Is Out There at the Dreamland Resort (or Should We Say ‘Area 51?’)
1 day ago
Edward Payson Weston
How the 6-Day Race Became an American Spectator Obsession
3 days ago
Alresford Spy Toilet
This Public Bathroom in a Sleepy English Village Was an Epicenter for Cold War Espionage
5 days ago
Manhattan Well
The Manhattan Well: How Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton United to Solve a Murder Mystery
6 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Japan Thousand-Armed Insect Goddess of Mercy
AO Edited

Thousand-Armed Insect Goddess of Mercy

A bizarre statue of a Buddhist goddess made from 20,000 insects.

Itakura, Japan

Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Konchu Senju-Kannon, the Insect Goddess of Mercy.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Konchu Senju-Kannon, the Insect Goddess of Mercy.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
How many arms, you say?   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The Thousand-Armed Insect Goddess of Mercy.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
A full view of the statue.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Beetles, beetles, and more beetles.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Detail.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
A newspaper article on the creator.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the Central Community Center.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Detail.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In the township of Itakura, Gunma, a bizarre sculpture lurks in the sleepy, poorly-lit lobby of a local community center. 

An eldritch entity composed of countless coleopteran corpses in the style of Oogie Boogie, the Konchū Senju-Kannon is the stuff of entomophobic nightmares. Haloed by the iridescent sheen of jewel beetles’ carapaces and crowned with a longicorn cocoon, the goddess sits on a throne of creepy-crawlies with the mandibles of stag beetles jutting out in every direction. At her feet, a swarm of drone beetles make up the pedestal, giving a bronze-green luster to it.

Neatly composed of over 20,000 insect specimens, the Konchū Senju-Kannon ("thousand-armed insect goddess of mercy") was created over a span of six years by one Mr. Inamura, an Itakura local who pursued the hobby of insect collecting. In Japan, the collector's typical game consists of different kinds of beetles, such as the rhinoceros, stag, and longicorn, quite common in the countryside.

Bright green with tints of rainbow, the jewel beetle has been highly valued for its rare beauty since antiquity, most notably used in the eighth century to make the Tamamushi Shrine of Hōryū-ji. No doubt inspired by this National Treasure, the goddess of Itakura is also modeled after the Kannon statue enshrined at Tōshōdai-ji Temple.

Perhaps ironically, this particular statue is dedicated to all the lives of insects lost at the hands of mankind, be it a victim of pesticide or specimen-making. Known as mushi-kuyō, the practice of memorializing insects is not itself an uncommon tradition in Japanese Buddhism (as seen in Ueno and Kamakura) if not as elaborate as the Insect Goddess.

Depending on the viewer, the goddess may be breathtaking or stomach-turning, exquisite or eccentric, a work of goodwill or hypocrisy. Regardless of your opinion, she continues to sit in the shadows in a perpetual state of prayer, full of mercy towards the little creatures.

Related Tags

Buddhism Beetle Statues Insects Goddess

Know Before You Go

To get to the Itakura Central Community Center, first get to Itakura Tōyōdai-mae station on a Tōbu-Nikkō Line train, then take the Tatebayashi-Itakura Line bus towards Tatebayasi.

The community center's lobby is freely accessible from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., open every day except Mondays. Once there, the Insect Goddess is not too difficult to spot.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Hidden Japan: Sado Island, Nara & Kyoto

Explore a different side of Japan.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

Published

August 30, 2023

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Thousand-Armed Insect Goddess of Mercy
Itakura, 374-0132
Japan
36.226874, 139.602497

Nearby Places

Namazu-San, the Lucky Catfish

Itakura, Japan

miles away

Morin-ji Temple

Tatebayashi-shi, Japan

miles away

Kateki: Erasmus from the De Liefde Shipwreck

Sano, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Japan

Japan

Asia

Places 786
Stories 111

Nearby Places

Namazu-San, the Lucky Catfish

Itakura, Japan

miles away

Morin-ji Temple

Tatebayashi-shi, Japan

miles away

Kateki: Erasmus from the De Liefde Shipwreck

Sano, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Japan

Japan

Asia

Places 786
Stories 111

Related Places

  • Japanese stag beetle (Prosopocoilus inclinatus).

    Kamakura, Japan

    ‘Insect Mound’

    Nestled among the bamboos in a temple complex, this art installation serves as a unique memorial to insects.

  • Taipei, Taiwan

    National Taiwan Museum Bronze Oxen

    These two 90-year-old statues were once part of a Japanese Shinto shrine.

  • Funerary stelae and graves from past centuries (note that these are not the Bone Buddhas).

    Osaka, Japan

    Bone Buddhas at Isshin-ji Temple

    This temple is home to a group of Buddha statues made from thousands of bones and ashes of the deceased.

  • Kamakura, Japan

    Ōfuna Kannon

    A giant statue of the Buddhist goddess of mercy watches over the town of Ōfuna.

  • Kannon and their thirty-three avatars.

    Kamakura, Japan

    Thirty-Three Avatars of Kannon

    In the former treasury of a popular temple, a rare sculptural depiction of Kannon’s diverse avatars.

  • Emma Daio, the Rhadamanthine king of the underworld.

    Kamakura, Japan

    Hall of the Ten Kings at Ennoji Temple

    Feast your eyes on the centuries-old statues of the judges of hell.

  • Frontal view of the head of the goddess

    Bath, England

    Head of Sulis Minerva

    The accidental discovery of this gilt bronze head led archaeologists to find the Roman Baths in the city of Bath

  • ‘Venus Rising From the Sea’

    Wolcott, New York

    'Venus Rising From the Sea'

    This elegant structure at the heart of a Finger Lakes town was originally a drinking fountain.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.