# Daibutsu

Daibutsu (大仏, kyūjitai: 大佛) or 'giant Buddha' is the Japanese term, often used informally, for large statues of Buddha. The oldest is that at Asuka-dera (609) and the best-known is that at Tōdai-ji in Nara (752). The Tōdai-ji Daibutsu is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the seven Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara and a National Treasure.

## Examples

| Name | Buddha | Size | Date | Municipality | Prefecture | Comments |
| Shōwa Daibutsu (昭和大仏) | | 21.35 metres (70.0 ft) | 1984 | Aomori | Aomori Prefecture | |
| Ganmen Daibutsu (岩面大仏) | | 16.5 metres (54.1 ft) | | Hiraizumi | Iwate Prefecture | Low relief carving at Takkoku no Iwaya (達谷窟) |
| Ushiku Daibutsu (牛久大仏) | Amida Nyorai | 120 metres (393.7 ft) including base and lotus (20 metres (65.6 ft)) | 1993 | Ushiku | Ibaraki Prefecture | Japan's largest daibutsu |
| Nihon-ji Daibutsu (日本寺大仏) | Yakushi Nyorai | 31.05 metres (101.9 ft) | 1790 | Kyonan | Chiba 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 |
| Kamagaya Daibutsu (鎌ヶ谷大仏) | Shaka Nyorai | 2.3 metres (7.5 ft), including base (0.5 metres (1.6 ft)) | 1776 | Kamagaya | Chiba Prefecture | Japan's smallest daibutsu made of bronze |
| Former Ueno Daibutsu (上野大仏) | Shaka Nyorai | | 1631 | Taitō | Tokyo | Heavily damaged in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and melted down for the war effort |
| Tokyo Daibutsu (東京大仏) | | 13 metres (42.7 ft) including base | 1977 | Itabashi | Tokyo | Weighs thirty tons; at Jōren-ji (乗蓮寺); erected in expiation of the Great Kantō earthquake and the war |
| Kamakura Daibutsu (鎌倉大仏) | Amida Nyorai | 13.35 metres (43.8 ft) | 1252 | Kamakura | Kanagawa Prefecture | Subject of the poem The Buddha at Kamakura by Rudyard Kipling; National Treasure |
| Takaoka Daibutsu (高岡大仏) | Amida Nyorai | 15.85 metres (52.0 ft) | 1981 | Takaoka | Toyama Prefecture | At Daibutsu-ji (大佛寺) |
| Echizen Daibutsu (越前大仏) | | 17 metres (55.8 ft) | | Katsuyama | Fukui Prefecture | |
| Gifu Daibutsu (岐阜大仏) | Shaka Nyorai | 13.63 metres (44.7 ft) | 1828 | Gifu | Gifu Prefecture | At Shōhō-ji (正法寺) |
| Former Hōkō-ji Daibutsu (方広寺大仏) | | | 1660s | Kyoto | Kyoto Prefecture | Sketch of c.1691 by Engelbert Kaempfer |
| Nara Daibutsu (奈良大仏) | Vairocana | 14.98 metres (49.1 ft) | 752 | Nara | Nara Prefecture | Restored several times; part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara; National Treasure |
| Asuka Daibutsu (飛鳥大仏) | Shaka Nyorai | 2.75 metres (9.0 ft) | 609 | Asuka | Nara Prefecture | Japan's oldest daibutsu and Buddhist statue, restored; Important Cultural Property |
| Former Hyōgo Daibutsu (兵庫大仏) | | | 1891 | Kobe | Hyōgo Prefecture | At Nōfuku-ji (能福寺); melted down in 1944 for the war effort and since replaced |
| (Nehanzo (涅槃仏) | Gautama Buddha | 41 metres (134.5 ft) (length) | 1899 | Sasaguri | Fukuoka Prefecture | At Nanzoin (南蔵院); contains ashes of The Buddha and two of his disciples. |
There are also several in Aichi Prefecture. https://www.aichi-now.jp/en/features/detail/4/