Great Buddha of Kamakura

A 13th-century bronze Amida Buddha that has sat in the open air since its hall was washed away.

Temple records say the statue dates from around 1252, in the Kamakura period. It sits in the open air, as it has for more than five centuries. Visitors can even go inside, because the statue is hollow. The temple, Kōtoku-in, belongs to the Jōdo-shū school of Buddhism and is among 22 historic sites in Kamakura's World Heritage proposal.

Why does it sit outdoors?

The statue once had a hall around it. The hall was destroyed by a storm in 1334, rebuilt, damaged by another storm in 1369 and rebuilt again. Then it was washed away by the tsunami that followed the Nankai earthquake on 20 September 1498. Since that day the Great Buddha has stood in the open air. A notice at the gate asks visitors to enter the grounds with reverence.

Wood first, then bronze

Before the bronze Buddha there was a giant wooden one, finished in 1243 after ten years of work. A storm damaged it in 1248 and destroyed its hall, so the priest Jōkō proposed making a new one in bronze instead. It was probably cast by Ōno Gorōemon or Tanji Hisatomo, two leading casters of the time, and it was once gilded; traces of gold leaf remain near its ears.

On the globe

The model shows the bronze seated Amida Buddha in the open air, as it has been since its hall was washed away.