The Great Buddha (Daibutsu) of Kamakura was one of the very first Japanese works of art to become known in the West, due to the depiction made in 1616 by the head of the British East India Company trading post, Richard Cocks. He wrote that the Kamakura Daibutsu “must be larger than the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World".

Although many other large statues were raised in Japan, some of them of astonishing height (like the 120 meters tall Ushiku Daibutsu), the Kamakura Daibutsu remains the most notorious giant Buddha statue in Japan, a marvelous place enjoyed by locals and foreign visitors alike.

Great Buddha (Daibutsu), Kamakura

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Japanese tea house waiting room