And down the loaded air there comes,The thunder of Thibetan drums,And droned-"Om mane padme oms"- A world's width from Kamakura. - Rudyard Kipling


Birthday Buddha



This Buddha is no ordinary Buddha (although I bet there's really no such thing as an ordinary Buddha). This Buddha is known as Daibutsu and apart from being Unesco World Heritage Site and a National Treasure Daibutsu is over 13 metres tall and weighs in at just over 121 tonnes. (See those little orange things? Those are some damn big oranges!). I will have a post lined up about my visit to Kamakura to see this incredible Buddha but I wanted to share him with you early as he has become a bit of a gift for two people in my life.

It was recently my boyfriend's 25th birthday. This is considered an unlucky birthday in Japan known as Yakudoshi. A year of calamity stemming from the idea that this is a year that boys must step up and become men (hence calamity haha!). In order to prepare for this men must worship at temples and ask for Buddha's protection. Thus bringing a little Buddha into his life seemed like a good idea after I learnt about this!

More sentimentally I am not a religious person but I'm not an atheist and so I took the time to be swept up in the atmosphere found in the surrounding grounds of Kotoku-in as a sign to pray that my late step-grandmother is now at peace.

He's a great little piece that I'm chuffed with and worked hard on and he means a lot to me. So while I work on making some prints of my own I made a few things available in my Society6 featuring Daibutsu the Kamakura Buddha so you can bring some peace into your life or hopefully pass some on to others.

       







"A tourist-show, a legend told,
A rusting bulk of bronze and gold,
So much, and scarce so much, ye hold
The meaning of Kamakura?"
-taken from Rudyard Kipling's "Buddha at Kamakura"

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