Surpassing the Kamakura Great Buddha with 28 cm, the Great Buddha of Shouhou-ji, Gifu, is one of the tallest Great Buddha statues (Daibutsu) in Japan. At the same time, this is a unique statue, because unlike the others it was built by using a very unusual technique.

A wooden framework was built around a central pillar, and the shape of the statue was built by knitting bamboo stems. The surface of the statue was made of many, many Buddhist scriptures bonded with clay and lacquered for resistance, then covered with gold foil.

Shouhou-ji Daibutsu, Gifu

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Bitchu Matsuyama Castle