The famous Buddhist temple Kotoka-in, located in the Western part of the city, brought a huge bronze statue of Buddha. The age of the statue is more than eight centuries. First, a wooden statue was built in 1243 and since then is a symbol of Kamakura, one of the symbols and a national treasure of Japan. The height of the statue with the pedestal is 13, 4 meters and weighs 121 tons.

Buddha image appeared in kamakura, thanks to the ambitions of the first shogun kamakura government Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Seeing in 1195 in the city of Nara ceremony in honor of the representation of the image of the Great Buddha after reconstruction, and he decided in his city to erect a monument that would symbolize the strength and power of the representatives of the Minamoto clan. However, to carry out the plan the shogun did not – he died four years later. After his death, a court lady Inada, having received the approval of the widow of the shogun and support monk Dzeko, began collecting donations for the construction of the temple. In 1238 they were able to collect the money, and in five years the construction of the temple and statues were completed.

In the first case it was a statue made of wood with a height of 24 meters, but in 1247 was destroyed by the storm. Inada and Dzeko again began fundraising. New construction began in 1252 and lasted 12 years. The statue this time was cast from the bronze of two renowned masters of Hisamoto Tanzi and Horomona It. Bronze Great Buddha stood like a rock before the impacts of disasters, but the temple building where it was located, was destroyed three times. In 1334 and 1369 wooden structure was demolished typhoons, and in 1498 he was washed away by the wave that accompanied the great earthquake. Since Buddha sitting under the open sky. Long hollow statue was abandoned, the homeless find shelter in this building. In the XVIII century statue from destruction were saved by the monks of the jodo sect, which collected donations for the reconstruction of the Great Buddha.

In 1923 Kanto earthquake destroyed the base of the monument, which was repaired two years later. The last renovation of the statue was made in 1960-1961 – in particular, measures were taken to protect against earthquakes.

Today, visitors to the temple can see the statue from the inside, there is a special staircase.