In 1657, the landlord ordered to carve a new gate for the closest shrine out of a huge rock, when the stonemason put a chisel on it, it bled suddenly. In fear of a curse, they put a head on it and worshipped it as a Buddhist statue in 1660. The primitive head is often described as 'Japanese Moai'. "Manji-no Sekibutsu" means the stone Buddha sculptured in Manji period (1658-1660).
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The Stamps are issued to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the local government law. They are issued in association with the commemorative coins, which will be sequentially released from each of the 47 prefectures. The fourth series features Nagano.
