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Kamakura One
Hasedera, founded in 721, houses a huge wooden statue of Kannon, but is better known for its numerous Jizo statues.
Kamakura Daibutsu, the most famous symbol of Japan, is an enormous bronze statue (1252) sitting in the open air.
Hasedera Kamakura Daibutsu
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Japan Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 21 Galleries in the Photoshelter Japan Collection — Hasedera and the Kamakura Daibutsu are in the following Galleries (Direct Link) —
Japan: Kamakura Temples 1 Kotoku-in (Kamakura Daibutsu), Kenchoji
Japan: Kamakura Temples 2 Engakuji, Hasedera, Hokaiji, Ofuna Kannon
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Hasedera (also known as Hase Kannon Temple)
In 721 AD, Priest Tokudo of Hasedera in Nara Prefecture had two sculptors carve a pair of Eleven-headed Kannon statues from a single block of camphor wood. One was dedicated to Hasedera in Nara, and the other was set adrift in the sea. 15 years later, it washed ashore at Kamakura. The statue was enshrined at the site of Hasedera Temple in Kamakura in 736.
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Hasedera Kannon-do 0759
The building above houses the Kannon sculpture. To the right is the Amida-do, which houses the sculpture shown below left. In front of the Kannon-do are numerous sculptures representing Kannon, Shitteno, and other Buddhist subjects (some shown below). Hasedera also is home to countless Jizo statuettes to honor and protect stillborn and other dead children.
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Hasedera Side Gate 0717
The lantern says “Hase Kannon”.
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Hasedera Kannon-do 0731
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Hasedera Garden Pond 0718
The Hasedera Garden and Hojo-ike Pond are just inside the entrance.
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Hasedera Jizo 0726
One of Hasedera’s numerous Jizo statues, this statue is in the Mizuko Jizo aspect as the guardian of unborn, aborted, stillborn or miscarried babies and of those children who have died young.
Jizo Bosatsu has these attributes only in Japan.
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Hasedera Jizo 0746
There are Jizo Bosatsu statues all over. This one is in his more commonly seen aspect, with the robe (kesa) of a monk, a halo over his head, carrying the six-ringed staff and the hoshunotama (wish-fulfilling jewel). Jizo incorporates several attributes of Buddhist and Shinto beliefs.
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Hasedera Jizo Monument 0727
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Hasedera Monument 0728
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Hasedera Monument 0722
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Hasedera Monument 0741
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Hasedera Monument 0723
These monuments are put in the temple by people who are commemorating their babies who died young and miscarried, stillborn or aborted fetuses.
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Hasedera Zochouten Jikokuten Taishakuten 0732
Two of the four life-size Shitenno attendants around the sculpture of Taishakuten.
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Hasedera Zochouten Jikokuten 0734, 0735 (composite will open in a second tab or window)
Available as an XL Composite (2800 x 2577)
Hasedera Zouchouten 734 (left) and Hasedera Jikokuten 735 (right) are also available separately as individual VLG images.
Shitteno (Deva Kings) are protectors of the four directions and ward off evil. They are usually represented stepping on the head of the Jyaki (Gaki) demon.
Jikokuten (King of the East) is the Keeper of the Kingdom. Zochouten (King of the South) is the Lord of Spiritual Growth. Komokuten (King of the West) is the Lord of Limitless Vision. Tamonten (King of the North) is the Lord of All Knowledge.
They are under the command of Taishakuten, Lord of the Center.
Representations of Komokuten and Tamonten can be seen on the Nara Two: Todaiji page
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Hasedera Zochouten 0738c
A 1018 x 1273 detail crop.
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Hasedera Taishakuten 0757, 0755 (composite will open in a second tab or window)
Taishakuten (Indra) is ruler of the gods of the Veda. The mightiest of the gods, he is also the god of war and the god of the storm and thunder. He commands and is served by the Shitenno (the four Deva Kings). He has the attributes of both a creator and of a sun god, and is similar to Zeus in the Greek pantheon.
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Hasedera Taishakuten 0737
Taishakuten defends deities and humans against all evil. Able to revive those slain in battle, Taishakuten has attributes of both a creator and a sun god. He is also the god of wealth in Japan.
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Hasedera Fudo Myoo 0775
Fudo Myoo (Myoh-oh), the God of Fire, is a personification of Dainichi Nyorai. Kurikara (the devil-subduing sword) is in his right hand, and a rope to bind demons is in the left.
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Hasedera Amida Nyorai 0769
Yakuyoke (Protector from Evil Spirits) Amida, One of Kamakura’s six principal statues of Amida.
Legend says that this was commissioned by the first Shogun in 1194 (Minamoto Yoritomo). This statue, known as the “good luck Amida” is one of Kamakura’s six principal Amida statues. The 9 foot tall Amida is the protector from evil spirits. The image is an 1100 x 1170 detail crop.
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Hasedera Amida Nyorai 0761
In the legend, this Amida was made to ward off evil from Yoritomo as he reached his 42nd birthday, which is considered to be an unlucky age for men.
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Hasedera Kannon 0772
A beautiful Kannon sculpture in the Amida-do. This small version of an eleven-headed Kannon, like the enormous one in the Kannon-do, carries a Shakujo (Buddhist staff like that carried by Jizo) and a vase with lotus flowers in the left hand.
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Hasedera Rinzo Sutra Wheel 0748
Located in the Kyozo (Sutra Archive). Detail shot of the left side.
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Hasedera Rinzo Sutra Wheel 0747
This is a rotating Sutra bookrack. Detail shot of the right side.
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Hasedera Rinzo Sutra Wheel 0747 0748
The two images have been put together to create an XL Composite (2580 x 2550), available from the Photoshelter Collection (direct link to the image display page).
The 1290 pixel preview linked from the image above was created from the full-sized version (small text). As you can see, the composite makes a more dramatic image than what could be achieved in a single shot. (see the image below for the best that could be done on-site for a single image of the Rinzo Sutra Library).
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Hasedera Rinzo Sutra Wheel 0751M (Rinzo: rotating Sutra bookracks)
This M-sized image is 900 x 1500.
The enormous octagonal wheel in the Kyozo is a storehouse of sutras. Spinning it is said to allow the person to accumulate the knowledge in the sutras and is supposed to be the equivalent of reading all of the sutras housed in the sutra library.
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Hasedera Benten 0781
Benten is the only female of the 7 lucky gods in the Shinto Pantheon. A river goddess in Indian mythology, she represents all things that flow (water, music, speech, learning, art). The ancient rock carving of Benten (Benzaiten) is holding a Biwa (Japanese lute).
When this set of images were taken, the Bentenkutsu Cave was only lit by candles. Now there are floodlights. By candle light this was a difficult 1/10 sec. hand-held shot.
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Benten Daughter Bentenkutsu 0776
One of 16 daughters of Benten in the cave, carved into the walls. An extremely difficult 1/6 sec. shot.
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Hasedera Hozo Bosatsu Amida 0787
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Japan Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 21 Galleries in the Photoshelter Japan Collection — Hasedera and the Kamakura Daibutsu are in the following Galleries (Direct Link) —
Japan: Kamakura Temples 1 Kotoku-in (Kamakura Daibutsu), Kenchoji
Japan: Kamakura Temples 2 Engakuji, Hasedera, Hokaiji, Ofuna Kannon
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Kamakura Daibutsu (Great Buddha of Kamakura)
Kamakura Daibutsu 0846c (no linked image of the crop — see below for full image)
Located at the Kotoku-in Temple in Kamakura, the Kamakura Daibutsu is a 45 foot tall, 93 ton bronze statue of Amida Nyorai which stands in the open air, facing towards the western sea.
The temple it was housed in washed away in a tsunami during the Muromachi period (1498).
It is hard to express the absolute sense of wonder that comes over you when you see this. I shot the Daibutsu from every angle that made aesthetic sense to me... below is a selection.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0788
Cast in 1252 (Kamakura period) by Ono Goro-uemon and Tanji Hisatomo, the Great Buddha is seated in the lotus position with his hands forming the gesture of meditation. Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo wanted a Buddha image created to demonstrate his power and religious faith, and to rival the giant Buddha at Nara (see Daibutsu, Todaiji Temple).
Upon the death of Yoritomo, Idana no Tsubone, a court lady of Yoritomo, submitted plans for the Daibutsu to Hojo Masako, the wife of Yoritomo who controlled the Shogunate after her husband’s death. Masako approved the plans, and Idana no Tsubone spent her remaining life in the effort to raise funds for the project (first for a wooden Buddha and later for the bronze Buddha). The Hojo regents did not approve funds (the Hojo clan supported Zen Buddhism, and Amida Buddha is central to the Jodo (Pure Land) sects), so Idana’s quest was taken up by the monk Joko, who traveled the country raising donations. By 1238, enough had been raised and work began.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0793
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0797
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0809
The first Buddha was wooden, and it was housed in an enormous wooden building. The statue was damaged in a storm, and Idanono-Tsubone and Joko decided to rebuild it in bronze. This was far more costly, but they managed to raise the funds based on their reputation for creating the huge wooden Buddha. The bronze Daibutsu was built from 1252 (over 12 years) and was housed in a monumental wooden hall, which was destroyed in a storm in 1335. It was rebuilt, but was blown down in a gale in 1368. The hall was built again, and this one stood until the tsunami of 1498, which washed away the hall but left the Daibutsu largely intact. Since then, the Kamakura Daibutsu has been in the open, exposed to the weather.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0811
The image above should give you a sense of scale.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0812
I took this angle both with and without the awestruck spectator... I think the lady makes 0811 the better shot.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0821
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0815
The violent storm of 1335 which destroyed the Buddha Hall (leaving the statue unharmed), crushed to death about 500 samurai (remnants of the then-defeated Hojo clan) who had taken refuge in the Hall. The Buddha Hall was rebuilt twice after this, but after the earthquake and tsunami of 1498 destroyed the building yet again, it was decided to leave the Buddha exposed to the weather.
Over the next 200 years, the statue fell on hard times... at one point there was even a group of gamblers who lived inside and made the statue their hideout. A priest from the Temple Zojoji (Jodo sect) named Yuten (1637-1718) directed a plan to restore the Daibutsu and solicited donations beginning in 1712. Without Yuten’s efforts the Daibutsu never would have survived... so to commemorate Yuten and his contributors, four bronze lotus petals were erected behind the statue, engraved with their names.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0846
The Kamakura Daibutsu is a National Treasure of Japan. It is also the world’s most widely recognized image of Japan.
The Amida hall which washed away in the 1498 tsunami was mounted on 60 foundation stones, 56 of which survive. Some are in use as garden stones and water basins at Kotoku-in Temple.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0862
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Kamakura Daibutsu Brasier Detail 0845
A close shot of the brazier, showing detail.
The Buddha was originally gilded, but the gold has come off over the years and now only a very few traces can be seen inside of the statue’s ears.
The statue’s base was damaged in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and subsequently repaired. In 1960, the statue’s neck and its base were reinforced to help it survive future quakes. The Daibutsu’s interior is hollow and can be entered for a fee of 20 yen. Below can be seen several images of the interior detailing the construction and some of these repairs.
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Kamakura Daibutsu interior 0840
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Kamakura Daibutsu interior 0832
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The image above right shows some of the reinforcement to help support the neck.
Kamakura Daibutsu interior 0836
Even with today’s technology, it has still not been discovered how the Daibutsu was cast and built.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0859
There are several horizontal lines visible on the statue, revealing the fact that it is made from eight pieces of bronze, but it has still not been revealed how it was built.
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Kamakura Daibutsu 0864
The Kamakura Diabutsu is the most widely-recognized symbol of Japan and (in my opinion) is the most aesthetically pleasing of the Daibutsu. Yoritomo wins.
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Daibutsu Sandals 0826
Daibutsu’s Warazori rice-straw sandals were created by local rice farmers and are nearly two meters long.
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Kotoku-in Lantern 0851
The exquisite bronze lantern on the left side, in front of the Daibutsu.
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Kamakura Koma-Inu 0868, 0869 (composite will open in a second tab or window)
An unusual pair of marble Koma-inu (Lion-dogs protecting the temple), modern.
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— Return to the top of this page —
Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Japan Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 21 Galleries in the Photoshelter Japan Collection — Hasedera and the Kamakura Daibutsu are in the following Galleries (Direct Link) —
Japan: Kamakura Temples 1 Kotoku-in (Kamakura Daibutsu), Kenchoji
Japan: Kamakura Temples 2 Engakuji, Hasedera, Hokaiji, Ofuna Kannon
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— Return to the Temples Index page —
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Return to the Master Index on the Japan Select page.
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