is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school.

History

Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 by Kagami-no-Ōkimi (), the wife of Fujiwara no Kamatari, wishing for her husband’s recovery from illness. Its original site was in Yamashina,

Yamashiro Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture on Honshū. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the '' Engishiki''. Yamashiro Province included Kyot ...

(present-day

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

). In 672, the temple was moved to

Fujiwara-kyō was the Imperial capital of Japan for sixteen years, between 694 and 710. It was located in Yamato Province (present-day Kashihara in Nara Prefecture), having been moved from nearby Asuka. However, the name Fujiwara-kyō was never used in th ...

, the first planned Japanese capital to copy the orthogonal grid pattern of

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

. In 710, the temple was dismantled for the second time and moved to its present location, on the east side of the newly constructed capital,

Heijō-kyō was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient ...

, today's Nara. Kōfuku-ji was the

Fujiwara Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

's tutelary temple, and enjoyed prosperity for as long as the family did. The temple was not only an important center for the Buddhist religion, but also retained influence over the imperial government, and even by "aggressive means" in some cases.John Bowring, pp.218–219 When many of the Nanto Shichi Daiji, such as

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergo ...

, declined after the move of capital to Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Kōfuku-ji kept its significance because of its connection to the Fujiwara. The temple was damaged and destroyed by civil wars and fires many times, and was rebuilt as many times as well, although finally some of the important buildings, such as one of the three golden halls, the Nandaimon, Chūmon and the corridor were never reconstructed and are missing today. The rebuilding of the Central Golden Hall was completed in 2018. was a ''

chashitsu ''Chashitsu'' (, "tea room") in Japanese tradition is an architectural space designed to be used for tea ceremony (''chanoyu'') gatherings. The architectural style that developed for ''chashitsu'' is referred to as the ''sukiya'' style (''suki ...

'' formerly located at the temple and considered one of the . It was relocated due its deteriorated state and is now in the gardens of the Tokyo National Museum.

Architectures and treasures

The following are some of the temple's buildings and treasures of note.

Architecture

* , 1425, one of the former three golden halls ( National Treasure) *, 2018, reconstructed, the former temporary Central Golden Hall building (仮金堂) now serves as the temporary Lecture Hall (仮講堂) * , 1426 (National Treasure) * , 1185(National Treasure) * , 1210 (National Treasure) * , 1741, Site No.9 of Saigoku 33 Pilgrimage ( Important Cultural Property) * , 1394–1427 (Important Cultural Property)

Treasures

* (Statue) The

Devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

of the Eight Classes, including dry-lacquer

Ashura Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks ...

(National Treasure) * (Statue) The Ten Great Disciples (National Treasure) * (Statue) Thousand-armed Kannon (National Treasure) * (Statue) attributed to Kōkei, is housed in Nan'endō (National Treasure)

Plan

Showing the original layout of the temple, with the later three-storied pagoda, Nan'en-dō, and Ōyūya superimposed. Of the buildings marked, only these three together with the five-storied pagoda, Tōkon-dō and Hoku'en-dō remain.

Gallery

File:Golden Buddha in Kōfuku-ji.jpg, Golden Buddha in Kōfuku-ji inside Tō-kondō File:Goldenbuddha.jpg, Yakushi Nyorai (Important Cultural Property) inside Tō-kondō File:Kofukuji06s3872.jpg, Hoku'endō, older of the two octagonal halls File:Kofukuji13s5s3200.jpg, Gojū-no-tō five-storied

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

File:Kōfuku-ji_at_night.jpg, Pagoda at night File:Kofukuji03s3200.jpg, The Sanjū-no-tō stands behind Nan'endō File:Five-roof pagoda in Nara.JPG, Gojū-no-tō five-storied

from below File:Kofukuji Monastery Jikokuten of Tokondo (306).jpg,

Virūpākṣa Virūpākṣa (Sanskrit; Pali: Virūpakkha; traditional Chinese: 廣目天王; simplified Chinese: 广目天王; pinyin: ''Guǎngmù Tiānwáng''; Japanese: 広目天 ''Kōmokuten'') is a major deity in Buddhism. He is one of the Four Heavenly ...

File:Two of the Four Heavenly Kings I (nanendō, Kōfuku-ji, Nara).jpg File:Two of the Four Heavenly Kings II (nanendō, Kōfuku-ji, Nara).jpg File:Tokyo National Museum Rokusoan P3303189.jpg, ''Rokusō-an'' tea house

Notes

References

* *

External links

Kōfuku-ji web site

Kōfuku-ji web site

Kohfukuji Temple, from The Official Nara Travel Guide

UNESCO

Exhibition of artifacts from Kofukuji reviewed in The Japan Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kofuku-Ji Buddhist temples in Nara, Nara National Treasures of Japan World Heritage Sites in Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan Pagodas in Japan Asuka period Historic Sites of Japan Maitreya Jingū-ji Religious buildings and structures completed in 669 7th-century Buddhist temples