Buddha’s Birthday, Hana Matsuri

Since today Japan celebrates Buddha’s Birthday, Hana Matsuri (花祭り - the Flower Festival), I would like to share with you a less known statue, a Great Buddha (Daibutsu) I just discovered in Gifu.

With a height of over 13 meters, this beautiful statue was built starting from 1790 and it represents Shaka Nyorai, the historical Buddha (Gautama Buddha). Built on a wooden frame and covered with clay and golden leaves, the construction took 38 years and a very interesting fact is that a large amount of Buddhist sutra scriptures, collected from all over Japan, were used to cover the body of this Great Buddha...