Kōtoku-in Audio Guide

Kōtoku-in: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Kōtoku-in

   Welcome to Kōtoku-in, the Kamakura temple whose local name is 高徳院, and whose open-air bronze Buddha is one of the most recognizable images in all of Japan. You are in Hase, in the western part of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture, and this is the spot that anchors that side of the city. Kōtoku-in is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect. Its mountain name is Daii-zan, and its older, common temple name is Shōjōsen-ji. The name Kōtoku-in is often translated as Temple of High Virtue. The temple is famous for one resident above all: the Great Buddha of Kamakura, known in Japanese as the Kamakura Daibutsu. Over the next few minutes, we will look at who he is, how big he is, why he was built, and how a poet from far away helped carry his image around the world.

2. 02

   Kōtoku-in and the Bronze Amitābha

   Let us start with the figure himself. The Great Buddha is a monumental bronze statue of Amitābha, called Amida in Japanese, the Buddha at the heart of Jōdo-shū devotion. He sits outdoors, under the open sky, and that is a big part of his character: his calm face changes with the light and the weather. The numbers are impressive. Including the base, the statue stands 13.35 meters tall and weighs approximately 93 tonnes. That is a lot of bronze to cast, which is part of why this figure counts as one of the great icons of the country. The temple dates the statue to around 1252, during the Kamakura period, the era that takes its name from this very city. So when you stand before him, you are looking at an image that belongs to the age when Kamakura was the seat of Japan's military government.

3. 03

   Kōtoku-in: A Dream Born in Nara's Shadow

   The story behind the Buddha reaches back before the statue itself. The tale goes that Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, was deeply impressed by the Great Buddha of Tōdai-ji in Nara, and wanted a monumental statue in Kamakura too. But Yoritomo died before he could carry out the plan. The Hōjō, who became the new de facto rulers, were supporters of the Rinzai denomination of Zen, and showed little inclination to finance the project. In other words, the great image you see today came out of an ambition that outlived its first champion. It is a nice thing to keep in mind as you look up at him. Behind the serenity is a story of a grand idea, a change of rulers, and a vision that was eventually realized in bronze.

4. 04

   Kōtoku-in, Kipling and a World Heritage Hope

   Today the Great Buddha is a designated National Treasure of Japan, and Kōtoku-in is one of the 22 historic sites included in Kamakura's proposal for inclusion in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. That proposal recognizes not just a single statue, but a whole city where the memory of medieval Japan remains remarkably legible. The Buddha has also traveled far beyond Kamakura through literature. The English writer Rudyard Kipling visited Kamakura in 1892 and wrote a poem about the Buddha here. Verses from that poem preface the opening chapters of his 1901 novel Kim, where the figure appears as the Buddha at Kamakura. That is how a quiet bronze face became a muse for poets and a touchstone for travelers. Its image appears in art, literature and photography, and it has become an emblem of Kamakura itself.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you move on, take a last slow look at the Buddha from a different spot than where you first stood. Notice how the open-air setting, the simple temple grounds and that calm expression work together. Then try to picture the time when this city ruled the country. Kōtoku-in sits in the western part of Kamakura, which makes it a natural starting point for exploring more of the city. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, the city's most important Shinto shrine, and Kenchō-ji, its oldest Zen temple, are both elsewhere in Kamakura, each telling a different chapter of the same medieval story. And there is still a question worth carrying with you: what do you think Yoritomo would make of the Buddha that finally rose in Kamakura?