The Usuki Stone Buddha in Sakura was placed in a corner of the park as if it had fallen from the sky

Sakura, Chiba Prefecture, was once home to the Sakura clan, which produced the largest number of chief ministers among the various clans during the Edo period (1603-1868). This fact led me to think that it would not be surprising if there were still some Magaibutu (Buddha figure carved on a rock face) in present-day Sakura. However, if one thinks about it dispassionately, there is no connection between the fact that Sakura Castle was called "the castle of chief ministers" and the fact that a stone Buddha was built on the rock wall. Sakura is home to the National Museum of Japanese History and Folklore, which comprehensively researches and exhibits Japanese history, folklore, and archaeology, and I went to the Usuki Koen Ishibutsu Daibutsu Nyorai statue in Sakura without noticing the possibility of the Magaibutsu being on display there.

The reason why I went to the Usuki Koen Stone Buddha Statue is that I am interested in Magaibutsu, even though I am not a fan of Buddha statues. The sheer scale of carving an artifact into the earth and the tension of knowing that if they fail, there is no way to get it back attracts me, so when I hear that there is a Buddha statue on a cliff, I go there without thinking. In India, I visited the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, and in China, the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang. On this particular day, I headed for the Magaibutsu in Sakura.

The statue of the Great Buddha in the Usuki Koen stone garden in Sakura was not what I expected. In the first place, it was not real. It was a replica in the collection of the National Museum of Japanese History, even though it had been left out in the rain in Sakura Joshi Park. Not knowing about Usuki in Oita Prefecture, where a cliff Buddha designated as a national treasure actually remains, I thought the Usuki Koen Ishibutsu Daibutsu Nyorai statue in Sakura was the real thing until I saw it in person. It was a bit of a bypass. Nevertheless, the sight of the huge replica placed in front of me as if it had fallen from the sky was surreal, and I convinced myself that it was worth the trouble to come and see it.

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