"The Great Buddha of Kamakura, Japan", ©1994 photo Elroy Christenson

The Great Buddha of Kamakura was cast of bronze in 1252 during the Kamakura Period (1185 - 1573) of the Yorimoto shogunate. It was truly a technical feat to cast something so large of bronze with such limited tools of the age. Its' ear is six foot six inches long, a total height of forty-four feet, and weighs 274,428 pounds. It had been covered by a building at one time but the building was destroyed by a great tidal wave. It has remained out of doors since then. It is a major symbol of Japan today is visited by thousands of tourists annually.