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 33-foot (10-meter) tall Buddha figure made primarily of fiber-reinforced plastic. It stands within the forested grounds of Fōresuto Pāku 373, surrounded by trees and hills.
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.
Although the statue is made of modern plastic, its face was deliberately shaped to echo the rounded, hand-carved look of old Enkū figures. The name of the former village of Minama, now merged into Gujo, is inscribed at the base of the statue.
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