Here you will find Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. According to legend, this 9m-tall camphor wood sculpture was made in the village of Hase then set adrift in the sea, later washing up on a Kamakura beach. Hase-dera Temple was built to house and honour the statue. The Kannon you see here now is a copy but is no less imposing for it, as it rests the merciful eyes of its 11 heads upon the pilgrim standing impressed before it. You won't quickly forget the disturbing sight of thousands of miniature statues of jizo, bodhisattva of stillborn children, placed there by grieving mothers.