Just a three-minute walk across the vermilion-painted Ukishima Bridge from the precincts of Harumiya at Suwa Taisha Shrine, surrounded by rustling rice paddies, sits the imposing Manji Stone Buddha. This statue uniquely combines a humorous appearance—its disproportionately small head perched atop a massive natural stone body—with mysterious symbols like a reverse swastika, lightning, and celestial icons on its chest.

In 1657, during the rule of Tadaharu, the third lord of Suwa Takashima Domain, a giant torii gate was planned to be donated to Harumiya of Suwa Taisha. When the stonemason began to carve from a large stone found on-site, blood reportedly flowed from it. Startled and fearful, the stonemason ceased his work and, instead, carved an image of Amida Buddha into the strange stone to pacify its spirit, thus creating this stone Buddha. Named after the era it was made, "Manji no Sekibutsu" dates back to 1660, as inscribed by the devout stonemason who erected it.