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Nōfuku-ji, a Buddhist temple in the port city of Kobe, Japan, was reportedly founded by the monk Saichō in 805. A thousand years later, the colossal Hyōgo Daibutsu was built on temple grounds in 1891, but the statue did not survive beyond World War II.

Commissioned by a local paper merchant, the bronze icon stood just under 15 meters (48 ft.) in height, but remained exposed and uncovered by a shrine hall. The Hyōgo Daibutsu represented Vairocana Buddha, the same figure enshrined at Tōdai-ji, in the ancient capital of Nara.

Guidebooks in the early 20th century refer to Nōfuku-ji as a worthy tourist destination when traveling through Kobe. Equally, Japanese postcard companies often used imagery of the Hyōgo Daibutsu; here we see a card made by Ueda Photo, one of the largest publishers during the late Meiji era.

Like the Kamakura Daibutsu, the outdoor setting allowed visitors an easy opportunity to have photographs taken in front of the colossal statue.

The statue was dismantled under the Ordinance on the Collection of Metals issued as part of Japanese war efforts during WWII. In 1991, one hundred years after the original was complete, a new Hyōgo Daibutsu was consecrated and remains today at Nōfuku-ji.

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