Changes

Visitors are allowed to enter inside the great hollow sculpture for a small fee, providing a unique view of how the sculpture was assembled. Like the Nara ''daibutsu'' at [[Todai-ji|Tôdai-ji]], it was made by piling tons of earth around a mold, allowing workers to then climb atop the earthen mound to pour molten bronze in from above. Numerous layers, or piece-molds, were used, so that at the end, the Buddha was completely encased in a massive pile of dirt created to allow workers to get up high enough to pour the last sections (i.e. the head). The dirt and molds were then removed, leaving only the cooled, hardened bronze. From inside the Buddha, the seam where the top part and the lower part, cast separately, were then joined, is clearly visible. Also visible is a part of the inside of the neck which looks like it has been painted with clay - the result of a strengthening, a conservation effort, in 1960, using a kind of plastic or resin.<ref name=plaques>Plaques on-site.</ref> Considerable sections of the sculpture may have been gilded; traces of gilding remain on the cheeks.<ref name=kotoku/>

Visitors are allowed to enter inside the great hollow sculpture for a small fee, providing a unique view of how the sculpture was assembled. Like the Nara ''daibutsu'' at [[Todai-ji|Tôdai-ji]], it was made by piling tons of earth around a mold, allowing workers to then climb atop the earthen mound to pour molten bronze in from above. Numerous layers, or piece-molds, were used, so that at the end, the Buddha was completely encased in a massive pile of dirt created to allow workers to get up high enough to pour the last sections (i.e. the head). The dirt and molds were then removed, leaving only the cooled, hardened bronze. From inside the Buddha, the seam where the top part and the lower part, cast separately, were then joined, is clearly visible. Also visible is a part of the inside of the neck which looks like it has been painted with clay - the result of a strengthening, a conservation effort, in 1960, using a kind of plastic or resin.<ref name=plaques>Plaques on-site.</ref> Considerable sections of the sculpture may have been gilded; traces of gilding remain on the cheeks.<ref name=kotoku/>

After the statue separated from its base and moved in the Great Earthquake, base-isolating quake protection was installed. No matter how great an earthquake, the statue will now never fall off its base, or fall over. It is the first [[Important Cultural Property|Japanese Cultural Property]] to be repaired using plastic, and to have this type of base-isolating quake protection installed.<ref name=plaques/>

After the statue separated from its base and moved in the Great Earthquake, base-isolating quake protection was installed. No matter how great an earthquake, the statue will now never fall off its base, or fall over. It is the first Japanese Cultural Property to be repaired using plastic, and to have this type of base-isolating quake protection installed.<ref name=plaques/>

The Kamakura Daibutsu is:

The Kamakura Daibutsu is: