4. The Shinran Shonin Statue

The Shinran Shonin statue stands as a sign of peace between nations.

The Shinran Shonin statue, located on the Upper West Side, came from Hiroshima to New York City after the WWII bombing of the Japanese city which killed 150,000 on August 6, 1945. Unlike the city itself, the statue depicting Shinran Shonin, founder of the Jodo Shinshu School of Buddhism in the early 13th century, was found completely intact after the bombing.

It was then was offered to the United Nations as a sign of peace. The statue now resides in front of the New York Buddhist Church, where services and meditation sessions are often held in front of the statue to honor the Japanese lives lost.