Holy Mary of Hara Castle was unveiled in March 2023 by the Japanese sculptor artist Eiji Oyamatsu of Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture and is the largest wooden statue of Our Lady in the world.

She stands almost 33 feet high and is located on the foothills of Mount Unzen overlooking the Hara Castle Ruins, which are located near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu.

Note: The Hara Castle, along with the Oura Cathedral and Hirado Island, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site commemorating the Hidden Christians in the Nagasaki Region.

Holy Mary was sculpted to console the 37,000 victims who died there during the Shimabara Rebellion. Christian men and women, young and old, who were led by the boy-saint Amakusa Shiro to rebel against their opressive government, were in turn murdered.

Eiji Oyamatsu, was inspired by Saint Pope John Paul II’s visit to Japan in 1981. Oyamatsu made a smaller prototype statue, and sent it to the Pope with his plans for a larger one. Saint Pope John Paul II blessed his work efforts. Forty (40) years later the beautiful sculpture was completed and now is a place of pilgrimage and veneration.