Daibutsu

Kotoku-in Temple

Great Buddha of Kamakura

Description

If you're looking for the largest Buddha statue in Japan...don't come here (it's in Nara, several hours away). But the Great Buddha of Kamakura is nonetheless impressive, and one of the most famous sights of the region. Cast in bronze and dating from 1252 A.D., it stands 13.35 meters tall. For an extra thrill, you can enter from around the back. The Buddha once sat inside a large hall, like the Great Buddha of Nara. But unlike in Nara, the hall here was washed away in a tsunami, and the statue has braved the elements since 1495. The image is that of the Amida Buddha, sometimes called the Buddha of Everlasting Light, and the central figure of the Jodo (Pure Land) sect of Buddhism.