Of the three well-known giant Buddha images, the legacy of old Japan, Daibutsu of Kamakura only (11.3 m, with the support -13.35 m, weighing 125 tons) is preserved in its original form. Daibutsu of Nara (15 m) was altered, and the Buddha from Kyoto (24 m) was completely destroyed in the fire, and today we can only see a small wooden model / copy. Daibutsu in Japanese big Buddha and appeals to all the statues of Buddha and the large size of its various incarnations. Amida Buddha, the Divine Light and Life, one of the most revered in Japanese Buddhism, the central figure of the concept of the Pure Land. Faith in Amida Buddha associated with salvation in heaven, eclipsed by the popularity of belief in the historical Buddha in the Japanese tradition of Mahayana. And in modern times the Japanese Pure Land schools are the most numerous in the country. Across the country, many sculptures of the Amida Buddha. The main worship Amida Nyorai practice is to chant the Buddha nembutsu (prayer template) "Namu Amida Butsu" (Hail Amida Buddha), as Amida assured his admirers, who will pronounce these words with great faith, must be born again in the Pure Land (or in Buddhist paradise in the West). A revival in the Pure Land is the fastest way to achieve a state of nirvana.Great Buddha of Kamakura

, a bronze statue, located near the Kotok-in (in the western city of Kamakura) and Amida Nyorai represents. The construction of the Buddha was funded by donations adherents of faith, without any help from the imperial government, or shogunate Kamakura. Was established in 1252 in a wooden structure destroyed by a storm in 1355, then rebuilt and re-porushennaya because of the earthquake and tsunami in 1495. Since then, the statue remains in the open air.Minamoto Yoritomo

(1147-1199), a famous warrior in Japan Kamakura shogunate founder and established his capital at Kamakura, to distance the military government from interfering with the emperor and other influential Buddhist monasteries in Kyoto and Nara. Before his death in 1199 Yoritomo expressed a desire to built a giant statue of Buddha at Kamakura to compete with the Daibutsu in Nara. According to the statue of Yoritomo was to embody his religious faith and the power of political power over the whole country.After the death of the shogun

power passed into the hands of his wife Hojo Masako of Japan and established a long time the board of regents Hojo (Kamakura influential generation, self-proclaimed descendants of the Taira clan).Hojo Masako

symbolic figure in Japanese history. Her father was Hojo Tokimasa. After her husband died she became a nun, but not retired from political affairs and rules together with his father. Thanks to the outstanding ability, immense popularity among the people, she was given the nickname of ama-Shogun (Shogun-nun). When she married Yoritomo, she was 21 years old, Yoritomo 31 and their marriage is unique to that period of history, as based on mutual love, not political calculations. Tokimasa difficult to resign themselves to the fact that her daughter was married to the sworn enemy of his family.

To fulfill the desire of her husband invited a lady Masako Inada-no-Tsubone, giving her instructions to collect donations, of course, not to Real Estate in Portugal, the existence of which the Japanese in those days hardly even suspected (Portuguese sailors appeared off the coast of Japan in 1543), for the construction of the statue. Inada collected was not enough and the monk Dzeko, on-demand Inada, went on pilgrimages throughout Japan. To a greater extent due to him in 1238 had accumulated funds for the construction of the Buddha.

In 1243 was erected a colossal wooden statue and a room for her, but in 1247 it destroyed a great storm. Five years later, produced a new article, this time a bronze, again due to the funds collected by a lady and a monk Inada Dzeko. In the courtyard of the temple Kotok is erected in honor of Lady Inada cenotaph.

In 1335, when the violent storm blew hall of wood, which was a Buddha, 500 Samurai, the remnants of the defeated army of Hojo, entered the building, trying to hide, but all were killed, crushed. After a natural disaster that occurred in 1495, for two centuries until the statue remained unprotected from the weather changes, the Buddha was in a terribly damaged. Yuten priest from Tokyo temple Dzodze-ji, is heading the project to raise funds for the restoration of the Buddha, in 1712.

suffered greatly during the Great statue Kanto Earthquake in 1923. In 1960, reinforced neck and base of the Buddha, in the future it could withstand the blows of nature. How to tell the experts, the current view of the statue differs from the original, because it was gilded and shone for a long time gilding faded and today we can see only traces of gold on the ears.