Japanese Peace Pagoda

Japanese Peace Pagoda

The Japanese Peace Pagoda is a majestic view. You can see it from the main Unawatuna beach and by climbing the Rumassala hill you will acquire the view.

Sri Lanka has four peace pagodas and there are over 80 which are built worldwide. Most are built by the Japanese Nipponzan-Myōhōji order, who also built the Peace pagoda here. They are monuments designed inside it to inspire peace among all races and creeds.

About the destination

If you look across the water from Galle Fort in Sri Lanka, you will see this Buddhist shrine as a giant marshmallow rising out of the rainforest.

This is built with the help of Japanese monks, the peace pagoda on Rumasalla Hill is one of three Buddhist stupas in Sri Lanka. Stupas are monuments that serve as beacons of peace for people of all nationalities and creeds. The clean, rounded design of the Unawatuna pagoda is the best example of this. You can walk or drive the shaded path to the Peace Pagoda. You will soon see a white bell-like structure surrounded by gold-painted statues.

There is a staircase to the stupa and you can go around it. There are four Buddha Statues around it and these indicate the birth of Prince Siddhartha, His Enlightenment, and the attainment of Parinibbana. From this place, you can see the beautiful view of the sea.

The purpose of the location

The idea behind designing this Peace Pagoda is to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and the main purpose is to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most of them have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii who is a Buddhist monk from Japan and the founder of the Nipponzan – Myohoji Buddhist Order. Then later in the years’ Fuji was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promote non-violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as symbols of World Peace.

The initiative was taken by building the first Peace Pagodas in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a symbol of peace. This was the place where the atomic bombs took the lives of over 150,000 people during World War II.

Further information

As you travel further passing the Peace Pagoda is another temple called Sri Vivekaramaya of Rumassala. This temple contains some interesting structures. One is the image of Hanuma carrying the piece of the Himalaya mountain in its hand. The other is a figure of Maithree Bodhisattva.

How to reach the destination

From Colombo

You should go to Colombo- Katunayake Expressway then goes on Southern Expressway and exit from the Pinnaduwa Exit in Southern Province. Then take the Southern Expressway Access Road and turn left onto Colombo – Galle – Hambantota – Wellawaya Road to reach your destination.

From Galle

You have to take Samagiwattha Gama Road to Dangedara Road. Turn left onto Dangedara Road and turn left onto Circular Road.