The Great Bronze Buddha at Kamakura

Image Description from historic lecture booklet: "Inseparable from the remembrance of temples seen in Japan is the great bronze statue of Buddha, which for nearly five centuries has sat serene and lonely amid the trees of the temple gardens of Kamakura, This colossal embodiment in bronze of the founder of Buddhism, nearly fifty feet in height, is the one relic of the magnificent temple which, once stood at Kamakura, then a town of more than a million souls. The city and the temple were swept away by the tidal wave of the great Pacific, but the great statue of Buddha remained unmoved amid the wreck of houses and the wild scene of awful death and destruction. Its eyes of gold have looked unemotionally upon death and life for many centuries, and upon millions of pilgrims who, during the last five hundred years, have bowed in worship before it. ..There is no Sunday in Japan, no special days set apart for offerings and worship of this idol. Prayers almost continually ascend before it, offerings are made every day in the year; but on certain days of each month special forms of worship are used. ..To most travelers this figure seems to stand for the material embodiment of Buddhism, the calm, serene impassivity taught by the Buddhist faith. To the Japanese it may mean much or little, according to individual temperament; it does not though, really represent the religion of Japan, which lies deeper than the worship of this isolated colossal figure of Buddha." . .Original Collection: Visual Instruction Department Lantern Slides. .Item Number: P217:set 060 011. ..You can find this image by searching for the item number by clicking here ( http://oregondigital.org/digcol ) . ..Want more? You can find more digital resources online ( http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/digital-resources.html ) . ..We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons; however, certain restrictions on high quality reproductions of the original physical version may apply. To read more about what “no known restrictions” means, please visit the Special Collections & Archives website ( http://archives.library.oregonstate.edu/exhibits/FlickrCommonsNoKnownCopyrightsRestrictions.html ) , or contact staff at the OSU Special Collections & Archives Research Center for details.