Daibutsu: The giant Buddha statues of Japan

June 27, 10:46 PMJapan Travel ExaminerJoshua Williams

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Nara Daibutsu (photo: Joshua Williams)

It can be hard to grasp the effect of Buddhism on Japan from pictures and books alone. Buddhism has been one of the primary religions in Japan for well over 1,000 years, and it certainly cannot be summarized in a couple simple words. However, when standing in front of one of Japan’s giant Buddha statues, one can truly start to get sense of how greatly Buddhism influences Japanese culture.

Daibutsu Buddha statues

Giant Buddha statues in Japanese are called Daibutsu, literally meaning Big Buddha. These Buddha statues come in several combined flavors, indoors or outdoors, sitting or standing. Construction materials are generally metal, but in some cases other materials such as wood or stone are used.  All are quite magnificent.

Kamakura Daibutsu (photo: Joshua Williams)

Famous giant Buddha statues in Japan

The Japanese like to classify famous places in groups of three. Unfortunately, there are only two giant Buddha statues that are ever agreed upon as the most famous, leaving the third up for debate.

The most famous giant Buddha statue is the Nara Daibutsu located in Todaiji Temple. It is listed as part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara World Heritage site.  This statue of a sitting Buddha is nearly 15 meters (49 feet) tall, and was first constructed more than 1,200 years ago. Nara is about an hour south of Kyoto by train.

The second most famous giant Buddha statue is the outdoor Kamakura Daibutsu. This statue of a sitting Buddha, located at Kotokuin Temple, stands over 13 meters (42 feet) tall. Kamakura is about an hour south from Tokyo by train.

  Ushiku Daibutsu
(photo: wikipedia.org/aerogoat)

Other giant Buddha statues

There are a number of other giant Buddha statues in Japan besides the two listed above. They vary largely in size, age, and pose.

One recently popular giant Buddha statue is the Ushiku Daibutsu in Ibaraki Precture. Standing about 120 meter (393 feet) tall, nearly three times the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York City, it is one of the largest statues in the world. Ushiku is about an hour north of Tokyo by train.

It is also worthwhile to note that Buddha statues do not necessarily depict the same person. Buddhism in Japan stems from Mahayana Buddhism, one of the two great sects of the religion. This side of Buddhism generally believes that there are many different forms of Buddha.
 

(An old cartoon depicting an ancient tale from Kyoto: Giant Buddhas eat and run)