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or 'giant Buddha' is the Japanese term

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, often used informally, for large statues

Japanese sculpture

The sculpture of Japan started from the clay figure. Japanese sculpture received the influence of the Silk Road culture in the 5th century, and received a strong influence from Chinese sculpture afterwards. The influence of the Western world was received since the Meiji era. The sculptures were...

of Buddha. The oldest is that at Asuka-dera

Asuka-dera

', also known as ', is a Buddhist temple in Asuka, Nara. Asuka-dera is regarded as one of the oldest in Japan.-Temple complex:A number of records refer to the origin of the temple, such as the Nihongi and Fusō-ryakuki...

(609) and the best-known those of Tōdai-ji

Todai-ji

, is a Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall , the largest wooden building in the world, houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese simply as Daibutsu . The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the ...

in Nara

Nara, Nara

is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...

(752) and Kōtoku-in

Kotoku-in

is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.The temple is renowned for its , a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.- The Great Buddha :...

in Kamakura

Kamakura, Kanagawa

is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...

(c.1252), both National Treasures

National treasures of Japan

National Treasures are the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs...

Examples

Buddha	Size	Date	Municipality	Prefecture	Comments
	21.35 metres (70 ft)	1984	Aomori Aomori, Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 302,068 and a density of 366 persons per km². Its total area was 824.52 km².- History :...	Aomori Prefecture Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
	16.5 metres (54.1 ft)		Hiraizumi	Iwate Prefecture Iwate Prefecture is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...	Low relief carving at
Amida Nyorai	120 metres (393.7 ft) including base and lotus (20 metres (65.6 ft))	1993	Ushiku Ushiku, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 81,532 and a density of 1,380 persons per km². The total area is 58.88 km²....	Ibaraki Prefecture Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...	Japan's largest daibutsu
Yakushi Nyorai	31.05 metres (101.9 ft)	Edo period Edo period The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....	Kyonan Kyonan, Chiba is a town located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010 data, the town had an estimated population of 8,922 and a density of 198 persons per km². The total area was 45.16 km².-Geography:...	Chiba Prefecture Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...	Carved in the 1780s and 90s by Jingoro Eirei Ono and his apprentices and restored to its present form in 1969. Japan's largest pre-modern (and largest stone-carved) daibutsu. The same site is also home to another large Buddha carving, the Hyakushaku Kannon
	2.3 metres (7.5 ft), including base (0.5 metres (1.6 ft))		Kamagaya Kamagaya, Chiba is a city located in northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 108,142 and a population density of 5120 persons per km²...	Chiba Prefecture Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...	Japan's smallest daibutsu
Shaka Nyorai		1631	Taitō Taito, Tokyo is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Taito City.As of April 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 168,909, with 94,908 households, and a population density of 16,745.86 persons per km². The total area is 10.08 km².-History:The ward was founded...	Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...	Heavily damaged in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake 1923 Great Kanto earthquake The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes... and melted down for the war effort Pacific War The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
	13 metres (42.7 ft) including base	1977	Itabashi Itabashi, Tokyo is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Itabashi City. Itabashi has sister-city relations with Burlington, Ontario in Canada; Shijingshan District in Beijing, People's Republic of China; and Bologna in Italy....	Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...	Weighs thirty tons; at ; erected in expiation of the Great Kantō earthquake 1923 Great Kanto earthquake The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes... and the war Pacific War The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
Amida Nyorai	13.35 metres (43.8 ft)	c.1252	Kamakura Kamakura, Kanagawa is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...	Kanagawa Prefecture Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...	Subject of the poem The Buddha at Kamakura by Rudyard Kipling Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature... ; National Treasure National treasures of Japan National Treasures are the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs...
Amida Nyorai	15.85 metres (52 ft)	1981	Takaoka Takaoka, Toyama is a city situated in the northwest of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, and is the central city of its Western District. Takaoka covers the 8th largest surface area in Toyama prefecture and has the second largest population after Toyama City...	Toyama Prefecture Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Toyama.Toyama is the leading industrial prefecture on the Japan Sea coast, and has the industrial advantage of cheap electricity due to abundant water resources....	At
	17 metres (55.8 ft)		Katsuyama Katsuyama, Fukui is a city located in Fukui, Japan.As of October 1, 2005, the city has an estimated population of 26,961 and the density of 106.28 persons per km²...	Fukui Prefecture Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...
Shaka Nyorai	13.63 metres (44.7 ft)	1828	Gifu Gifu, Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...	Gifu Prefecture Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...
		1660s	Kyoto Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...	Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto prefecture was known as Yamashiro....	Sketch of c.1691 by Engelbert Kaempfer Engelbert Kaempfer Engelbert Kaempfer , a German naturalist and physician is known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, South-East Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He wrote two books about his travels...
Vairocana Vairocana Vairocana is a celestial Buddha who is often interpreted as the Bliss Body of the historical Gautama Buddha; he can also be referred to as the dharmakaya Buddha and the great solar Buddha. In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana is also seen as the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of shunyata or...	14.98 metres (49.1 ft)	752	Nara Nara, Nara is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...	Nara Prefecture Nara Prefecture is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....	Restored several times; part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites in Japan Japan accepted the UNESCO World Heritage Convention on 30 June 1992. As of 27 June 2011, Sixteen properties have been inscribed on the World Heritage List: twelve cultural sites and four natural sites... : Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara encompasses eight places in the old capital Nara in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Five are Buddhist temples, one is a Shinto shrine, one is a Palace and one a primeval forest. The properties include 26 buildings designated by the Japanese... ; National Treasure National treasures of Japan National Treasures are the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs...
Shaka Nyorai	2.75 metres (9 ft)	609	Asuka Asuka, Nara is a village located in Takaichi District, Nara, Japan.As of September 1, 2007, the village has an estimated population of 6,146 and a density of 255.23 persons per km². The total area is 24.08 km².Asuka is the land where ancient palaces were located...	Nara Prefecture Nara Prefecture is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....	Japan's oldest daibutsu and Buddhist statue, restored; Important Cultural Property Important Cultural Properties of Japan The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....
		1891	Kobe Kobe , pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...	Hyōgo Prefecture Hyogo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...	At ; melted down in 1944 for the war effort Pacific War The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East... and since replaced

Daibutsu

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