Located in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture is the renown Great Buddha (Daibutsu) bronze statue of Amida Buddha.
The Jodo-shu Buddhist temple is known as Taiizan Kotokuin Shojosenji (“Kotoku-in” for short) brings in travelers all over the world.
The bronze version was created around 1252 during the Kamakura period, it replaced a giant wooden Buddha (which was damaged in a storm back in 1248) and was funded by Lady Inada (Inada no Tsubone) and the Buddhist priest Joko of Totomi.
At one time, the statue was gilded in gold and there are traces of gold leaf near the statue’s ears.
In 1923 the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed the base that the statue is stting on and was repaired in 1925. Repairs to the statue were done between 1960-1961 and the neck was strengthened as measures to protect it from earthquakes. And in 2016, more research, restoration and preservation work was done on the statue.
A popular location, it was designated a National Treasure and is one of the 22 historic sites included in Kamakura’s proposal for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
In part 1, I will discuss what one can see when entering the gate of Kotoku-in.
First, let’s take a look at the rules…which is displayed in English:
No drones, no “Pokemon GO”! No Problem!
The Nio-mon Gate has a plaque inscribed with Kotoku-in’s official name “Daii-san”. According to the main website, the gate was moved together with a pair of Nio ()Vajrapani) images from another location and rebuilt in the beginning of the 18th century.
As you approach the gate, you will see the guardians in front!
The admission fee to get in is quite cheap as it’s only Y200 and Y150 for children. The place is open during normal business hours of 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
You’ll notice a lot of schools take tours to Kotoku-in, so a lot of young students walking around.
You can expect to find a gift shop inside the gate.
As you look in the map, the public viewing area is not very huge but now it’s time to get closer and see the “Great Buddha”, which I will discuss more in part 2.
