Tennyo “Magokoro” (The Goddess of Sincerity) is a statue constructed by Gengen Sato, who spent more than 10 years at the task after it was commissioned by Mitsukoshi Ltd.

Consisting principally of Japanese cypress “Hinoki” about 500 years old that was selected from the woods surrounding the Kibune Shrine in Kyoto, the statue is painted with clay pigment and chemical colouring and decorated with gold and platinum. The figure represents the cloud-swathed Goddess of Sincerity descending lightly to the fruitful earth, accompanied by a phoenix bearing an offering for her tray of heavenly flowers.

Dimensions: height 10.91m, height of figure 2.73m, width of statue 4.39m, one side of hexagonal base 2.12m

Back in 1969 this was on display in the Central Hall, 1st floor, of the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo. It was still on display in 2007, but unsure if it is still there today.

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