The Great Buddha
The Kotokuin was constructed in 1252. It has a bronze statue “Great Buddha Statue” that stands 13 meters high, sitting cross-legged, robed with drapes in the classical lines reminiscent of ancient Greece, cast in 1292. It sits outside against wooden hills.This temple is famous for housing a Buddhist statue of Kannon, Goddess of Mercy, with eleven faces and a thousand arms. Each of the eleven faces represents a different phase in the search for enlightenment. The 9.18 meter tall, gilded wooden statue is regarded as one of the largest wooden sculpture in Japan. You can also enjoy the pretty garden with ponds and the Jizo-do Hall with hundreds of small statues of the Jizo Bodhisattva who helps the souls of dead children to reach the paradise.This shrine was originally built in 1063 and dedicated to the Emperor Ojin (God of War) and the Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo among others. An interesting fact of this shrine is that it was not only a Shinto "Hachimangu" shrine, but also a Tendai Buddhist temple for most of its history.Between Tsurugaoka hachimangu Shrine and Kamakura station there is a pretty street with a lot of restaurants and shops selling traditional Japanese souvenirs. You can enjoy eating or shopping there.
