Casting of the Kamakura Great Buddha

Timeline

1. 1238–1243Hase, Kamakura · KantōAccording to the Azuma Kagami, the monk Jōkō solicited funds and began building a wooden Great Buddha and Great Buddha Hall in 1252, completing the eye-opening ceremony about five years later.
2. 1247–1252Hase, Kamakura · KantōThe wooden Great Buddha was toppled and destroyed by a storm in 1252. The public raised funds again, deciding to recast a more durable bronze statue and rebuild the Great Buddha Hall.
3. 1252Great Buddha casting site, Hase, Kamakura · KantōThe Azuma Kagami entry for 1252 records 'began casting a gilt-bronze eight-shaku Nyorai statue.' Legend holds that the casters Ōno Gorōemon and Tanji Hisatomo participated, pouring the bronze in layers from bottom to top, and the completed statue was installed inside the Great Buddha Hall.