Kōtoku-in Temple, Buddhist temple in Hase, Kamakura, Japan
Kōtoku-in is a temple site in Hase, Kamakura, Japan, that displays a large bronze figure of Amida Buddha outdoors. The figure sits on a stone platform surrounded by low greenery and gravel paths that allow visitors to view it up close.
The bronze figure was cast in 1252 after a wooden predecessor was damaged during a storm in 1248. It originally stood inside a hall, but after a tsunami in the 15th century it remained in the open air.
The temple only took the name Kōtoku-in after it joined the Jōdo (Pure Land) sect in the Edo period, when the monk Yūten revived it with funds from the Asakusa merchant Nojima Shinzaemon. Near the statue stands a stone slab inscribed with Yosano Akiko's poem calling the Buddha a handsome man, though it names Shakyamuni rather than Amida.
The grounds are reached on foot in about nine minutes from Hase Station on the Enoden line, or by bus to the Daibutsu-mae stop. The bronze figure stands in the open air, so there is no hall to shelter in during rain. Visitors may enter the hollow interior, but no more than thirty people are allowed inside at once.
The bronze figure is hollow and visitors can enter through an opening at its base to explore its interior. Inside, casting marks and internal supports remain visible, giving insight into 13th-century techniques.
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