諏訪大社下社の春宮の脇に万治の石仏がある。剽軽な不思議な道祖神です。春宮の陰での穴場的な存在だったけど数年前にJRに発見（？）されて、長野の代表のイメージとして宣伝で使われて、最近は有名になった。
先日はお岡谷市に用事があって、そのついでに初めて春宮と万治の石仏に行ってみた。
春宮はその歴史、その信仰、その建物（彫刻は見事！）、４宇角に伝説の御柱が立っていて、
感動でした。
そしてその脇道でかわいいらしい赤い橋で静かな浮島を通って、やっと万治の石仏に辿り着く。そして、
ええっ？！
今まで見た写真では町から離れた自然な所というイメージだったけど、実際は下諏訪市の市街地で、万治の石仏の真裏に住宅があって、洗濯物が思い切って干してあって、
このもんか？って感じ。
信州の観光スポットの一つな謎が解けました。
Next to Suwa Grand Shrine's Harumiya (Spring Shrine) is a stone Buddhist statue called Manji no Sekibutsu. A bit mischievous, a bit mystical, and a bit mysterious, Mr. Manji has an oversized body and an undersized head. But he has his own website and song even, and thanks to a recent JR ad campaign, he's risen out of obscurity out from under the shadow of the nearby Spring Shrine. The Manji is now one of Nagano Prefecture's most representative images.
On a recent trip to Lake Suwa, I visited the Spring Shrine and the Manji. The shrine itself is an amazing work of Japanese Shinto architecture -- the intricacy of the wood carvings will blow you away. You really get a sense of the history and solemnity of the site, especially with the massive Onbashira columns standing at the 4 corners.
From the shrine, you take a side road, cross serene Ukejima Island by a pair of photogenic red bridges, and finally reach the Manji.
And go, "Eh?"
All the pictures I'd seen before made it seem like the Manji was in a remote location surrounded by nature. So I was surprised that it's actually in such an urban proximity, with several houses directly behind the statue -- with their laundry very visibly hanging out to dry.
Well, one of Nagano's sightseeing mysteries dispelled.
