The Great Buddha in Kamakura

We took the kids to see the Great Buddha in Kamakura after a half day at school. We walked down to Mutsuura train station on the Keikyu line which only took about 10 minutes from our house. We had to climb down 4 or 5 sets of steep stairs and I hilariously watched Mike carry Abby in the stroller down all those stairs. Andrew enjoyed running down the side runner along the stairs which made me nervous but I had to smile at his pure enjoyement. Once at Mutsura we took the train to Higashi- Zushi. On the train Emma spotted an advertisement with a sad face painted on a pear and she just thought it was so funny. She made me take a picture of it. It remained a funny thing to spot in all of the different trains we took. From Higashi-Zushi we left the station and walked two blocks to the JR line at Zushi so we could take another train to Kamakura. At Kamakura we got on a local trolley train and went the 3 stops to Hase which is where the Big Buddha is located.

We walked a half mile down the road and entered the beautiful grounds. I love all the tori gates and shrine like entrances everywhere. After paying to get in we headed to the little hut to wash our hands. It is tradition to wash your hands to purify yourself before entering. The kids had fun pouring water on their hands and playing in it a bit. They were fairy reverent about it but eventually we had to tell them that their hands were indeed clean enough. It was a BRIGHT SUNNY day outside so I already knew a picture in front of the Buddha would be hard with my squinty and sensitive-eyed family so we found a shady spot and had someone snap a quick photo.

The Buddha was bigger than I had remembered from a picture I had seen of me visiting there when I was 2 years old (still trying to find that photo). The kids were enamored by the massive statue. Peter turned to me and said, "Look mom, he is sitting criss cross apple sauce." Sure enough he was. It was funny to see tiny little Abby pointing up at the gigantic Buddha. She looked so small compared to the large statue. All of the Japanese people around us just kept saying "kawai" which means cute in Japanese. Our children were a bit of a highlight for the people as we were the only blong haired blue-eyed people there. It didn't take long before the kids found a water fountain. Near the fountain we spotted Buddha's gigantic sandals hanging on the wall. They were really neat looking. We continued to explore in the wooded area behind the Buddha and then we headed back through a wooded trail to the road that lead us back to the station. The kids enjoyed ice-cream cones on our way back and Mike and I shared a crepe which we ended up having to share with everyone because we all LOVE the crepes here. It was the perfect little adventure for a Friday afternoon.

A little history on the Buddha:

The seated Buddha, Amida Nyorai known by the familiar name of the Kamakura Daibutsu is the principle deity of Kotoku-in temple. It is a national treasure. Daibutsu in Japanese means Great Buddha and most westerns refer to Daibutsu as the Great Buddha of Kamakura. The Great Buddha of Kamakura is located in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. It is made of bronze and it is located in the Kotokuin temple, one of the most famous Buddhist temples of the Pure Land sect in Japan. The Daibutsu of Kamakura is said to be the second largest monumental Buddha in Japan.

The Buddha was founded in the year 1252, but the buildings were wiped out by the tsunami tidal wave in the 15th century and now, the statue lies in the open with no roof. The buddha of Kamakura is 13.5 meters tall and weighs about 93.1 tons. The great Buddha is seated in the lotus position with hands forming a gesture of meditation called “DHYANI MUDRA”. The Daibutsu is located in the backdrop of wooden hills.