竜頭薬師如来, Monument in Gujo, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Ryūzu Yakushi Nyorai is a monument in Gujo, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, consisting of a roughly 10-meter-tall Buddha figure made primarily of fiber-reinforced plastic. It stands within the forested grounds of Forest Park 373, surrounded by trees and hills. The figure is modeled on an Enkū-style wooden Buddha, with a rounded face and black vertical characters reading "Manmammanaka no Sato" on its chest, gold characters for "Minami" at its feet, and a small black plaque at the base.
The statue was built in 1997 in the area of Minama-mura, a place traditionally regarded as the birthplace of the 17th-century monk and woodcarver Enkū. Its form was modeled on Enkū's style of carving, a tradition tied closely to this part of Gifu.
The statue stands in Fōresuto Pāku 373, a forested park where visitors can still drop a coin into the offering box, even though the figure is not an active object of worship. The area around it preserves a living connection to the sculptor Enkū, whose roughly 160 wooden figures can still be found across the region.
The statue is visible from the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway and serves as a clear landmark from the road. Since the former Mt. Liner monorail no longer runs, visitors reach the figure on foot along a forest trail.
The gold characters on the statue's lower body read "Minami" (美並), not the former village name Minama; the character for "village" was removed after Minami merged into Gujo. The face also differs from the wooden prototype kept in front of the statue, being rounder than the original carving.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,643 contributors worldwide.