Great Buddha of Kamakura, Bronze Buddhist statue at Kōtoku-in temple in Kamakura, Japan.
The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a monumental bronze statue housed at Kōtoku-in temple in the Hase district. The sculpture sits in the open air and has developed a distinctive greenish patina over the centuries.
The sculpture was created in 1252 during the Kamakura period and replaced a wooden Buddha destroyed by natural disasters. The bronze version has endured for more than 700 years, surviving major earthquakes and flooding.
The statue serves as a place of worship where visitors and devotees come to pray and make offerings. You will see people approaching it with flowers, lighting incense, or sitting quietly in front of it throughout the day.
The temple is within walking distance of Hase Station and easy to reach on foot. Well-marked pathways lead to the entrance, and there is plenty of open space to explore the temple grounds and view the statue from different angles.
Inside the hollow statue hang handmade straw sandals woven by children as symbols of hope and good wishes. This small detail, often overlooked by visitors, shows how the sculpture touches the daily spiritual lives of people.
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