Shinran stands at the New York Buddhist Church on Riverside Drive.

Shinran Shonin (1173-1262) is the founder of the Jodo Shinshu Sect of Buddhism. Shinran’s statue originally stood outside a temple in Hiroshima, Japan. The statue emerged unscathed from the atomic blast and has been in New York since September, 1955. The 15 foot tall depiction of Shinran Shonin outside the New York Buddhist Church stands as a symbol for world peace and the destructive power of the atom.