Most of the Great Buddha statues (Daibutsu in Japanese) are built of metal, like the most famous of them, the Kamakura Great Buddha, or are made from concrete and steel, like the tallest of them, the Ushiku Daibutsu.

But if you visit Gifu, you’ll have the chance to admire a truly unique statue, the Shouhou-ji Daibutsu. Although it is quite large, with a height of 13.7 meters, the entire statue was built on a wooden frame assembled around a central ginkgo tree pillar. The body of the statue was knit from bamboo materials and the surface, finished in lacquer and covered with gold leaf, was created by using a very large number of… Buddhist scriptures, donated from around the country.

Shouhou-ji Daibutsu, Gifu

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Bon-Odori stage night illumination