baggio4ever, CC BY 3.0

The Gifu Daibutsu is a 13.63-metre seated Shakyamuni inside the Daibutsuden of Shoho-ji, an Obaku Zen temple whose full name is Kinpozan Shoho-ji. It is the largest of Japan's kago-daibutsu, or basket Buddhas, and the construction is the reason to come: a wooden frame wrapped in a lattice of bamboo, coated in clay, then papered with Mino washi on which sutras are written, and finally lacquered and gilded. It took about 38 years and spanned two abbots, the eleventh and the twelfth, and the eye-opening ceremony was held in 1832. The statue is a Gifu Prefecture Important Cultural Property and the hall around it is a Gifu City one; the hall was never optional, since a figure built from paper and lacquer needed a roof from the moment work began. A smaller wooden Yakushi Nyorai sits inside the great statue as its tainai-butsu, and a Heian-period Amida Nyorai sits in front of it.

Best season

Year-round

Crowd level

Moderate

Opening hours

Daily 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Usual hours — confirm with the official site for holidays + seasonal closures.

Admission

Adults (high-school age and above) ¥300, children (primary age and above) ¥150; groups of 30 or more ¥250/¥100. These are the rates from the temple's own fee revision, posted 31 March 2026 and effective 1 April 2026 — the ¥200/¥100 still shown on Japanese Wikipedia is the old figure.

Nearest station

Gifu Station (JR) / Meitetsu Gifu Station

Website

gifu-daibutsu.com

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