Wada Daibutsu and Horizontal Cave Tombs
Main Image Amida Nyorai (Traditional Attribution) Category Nyorai (Tathagata)
Impression TagsMysteryStillnessDepth
DescriptionCarved into a hillside rock face on the west bank of the Abukuma River, this cliff-carved image stands about 3.6 meters high. It is traditionally identified as Amida Nyorai, though another theory identifies it as Dainichi Nyorai, and the weathered form bears the passage of long centuries. Around twenty horizontal cave tombs from the end of the Kofun period remain nearby, bringing an ancient burial landscape and medieval Buddhist devotion together on the same rock face. The image was also once worshiped by people praying for sufficient breast milk, reflecting its deep ties to local life.
