The Kamakura Daibutsu, or Great Buddha, is a massive bronze Buddha statue built in 1243 after ten continuous years of construction. The temple is a Jodo-shu (Pure Land) place. People know of the Kamakura Daibutsu by that name alone, but the statue is located at Kotokuin. Actually, in 1243 there was a wooden Buddha on the site, but it was destroyed and then the priest suggested that the replacement statue be made of bronze instead. It's said that the statue was covered in gold. Then the hall was destroyed twice, by storms in the fourteenth century, sweeping away the wooden hall. The last wooden building in the complex was destroyed by a tsunami in the fifteenth century. The wooden hall was never replaced after that.
It's hollow and about forty-four feet high. I got to go inside the statue and see how it was put together. The first time I went to Kamakura it was pouring down rain, and we rushed inside for shelter. We huddled inside listening to the pitter patter of the rain.
My second trip to Kamakura in 2010 (when I purchased this omamori) was very different. I had arrived in Japan the evening before, and because of the letlag I woke up very early. I jumped on a 5:30-6AM train from Tokyo to Kamakura. I visited Kotokuin first because it was the firs to open and watched the monks as they laid oranges and grapefruits in front of the statue. I stayed for over an hour taking pictures before moving onto Hase Temple.
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