The second largest Buddha

A pretty amazing thing to see in Japan are the large Buddha statues. The name for the statues, daibutsu (大仏) in Japanese, is actually just the character for large and the character for Buddha.

According to Wikipedia, the largest Buddha statue in Japan is the Ushiku Daibutsu in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture. This bronze plated statue, one of the tallest statues in the entire world, was actually not finished until fairly recently – 1993. It is 393.7 feet tall, weighs 4003 tons, and has a four story museum on the interior of the statue. The left hand of this Buddha is actually taller than the third highest Buddha statue in Japan.

The second largest Buddha statue in Japan is the Nihonji Daibutsu on the side of Mount Nokogiri in Chiba Prefecture. This is the largest stone carved daibutsu in Japan and stands 101.9 feet tall. Although this Buddha was completed long before the Ushiku Daibutsu – 1783 – it was restored in 1969 due to weather damage over the years. This statue is on the grounds of the Nihonji Temple, which was completed in 725.

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After these two Buddhas, the next tallest is actually almost half as tall as the Nihonji Daibutsu. The Echizen Great Buddha stands 55.8 feet tall, followed by the Ganmen Great Buddha in Hiraizumi at 54.1 feet tall, and the Great Buddha of Takaoka at 52 feet tall.

Following these three Buddha is the Great Buddha of Nara, which is 49.1 feet tall and is located in the Todaiji Temple complex. The Great Buddha Hall that houses this big Buddha statue, is the largest wooden building in the world. This temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, like some of the minka farmhouses, and can be dated back as far as 728. Like many of the other daibutsu, the Buddha in this temple has been repaired and rebuilt several time due to weather damage and earthquakes.

Lastly, in terms of daibutsu over 40 feet at least, there is the Gifu Great Buddha, which is 44.9 feet tall and the Kamakura Great Buddha, which is 43.8 feet tall. The Gifu Great Buddha took 38 years to build and was finished 1832. The Kamakura Great Buddha might date back as far as 1252, but the original building that the statue was built within was washed away in 1498. This is the second largest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, after the Ushiku Daibutsu.

These daibutsu can be pretty inspiring for a lot of different reasons – from the religious connotations they carry to their sheer size. They even inspired a line of Big Buddha handbags. Whatever inspiration you get, and regardless of whether or not you have one of the Big Buddha bags, these statues definitely seem to be worth a visit.

- Traveler.