10 November 2003

Last Updated: 25/03/04

 

It was a National Holiday, it was raining, and the Dinosaur Museum in Katsuyama was shut.  We'd driven all that way, so decided it would be a good opportunity to go and see the "biggest indoor buddha in Japan".  I'm glad we did, it was stunning.  Also on the same sight is a five story pagoda which we climbed.

 

Ok...here are some facts, courtesy of the pamphlet we were given:

 

The Echizen Dai Butsu

   - the main image of Buddha is 17m tall

   - the main image of Buddha was built using 220 tons of copper

   - the image is the world's largest cast-metal statue

   - in The Hall of the Great Buddha, to the left and right of the great Buddha itself are the figures of Bosatsu ad Rakan

   - the surrounding walls have 1,281 stone and gold Buddhist statues enshrined in them

 

Japan's tallest five-storied pagoda 

   - 75m tall (taller than the To-Ji Temple, Kyoto)

   - contains various Buddhist statues on each floor

 

Oh, yeah, and bear in mind all this was build in 1987 after Kiyoshi Tada donated his entire fortune to its creation.