Popular Destinations

Manji no Sekibutsu (Stone Buddha)

Highly praised by world-famous contemporary artist Taro Okamoto!

A mason was ordered to construct a large torii gate for Harumiya Shrine. However, when he struck the stone with his chisel, it is said that blood began to flow from the stone. Shocked and stricken with fear, the mason decided to give up on the project and instead carved Buddha Amida onto this stone and erected it while paying his respects to the spirit. As the mason carved “the third year of Manji” (1660 AD) onto the statue, it is known as Manji no Sekibutsu (the Stone Buddha of Manji).
In 1974, Taro Okamoto, a modern artist of the times who occasionally came to Suwa Taisha for the Onbashira Festival, paid a visit to the statue. Impressed by the statue, it was soon made well-known all throughout Japan via speeches and magazines. Jiro Nitta, a novelist from the Suwa region, also admired the statue.