Shofukuji Temple Nagasaki

 

Shofukuji is the 4th of the Chinese temples built in Nagasaki during the Edo Period. Like  nearby Fukusaiji Temple, it is not located in Teramachi like Sofukuji and Kofukuji, but north of the river.

The Sanmon, the main gate, was built in 1703. Along with the other main structures of Shofukuji, it is an Important Cultural Property and is currently undergoing major renovation.

Shofukuji was founded in 1677 by a disciple of Ingen, the founder of the  Obaku sect of Zen which had been founded in 1661. The other three Chinese temples became Obaku after 1661, but Shofukuji is the only one founded as Obaku.

The Tenmoden was built in 1705. The Japanese carpenters had started to slightly adapt and alter the Chinese style architecture.

When I visited in 2014 the place was deserted, somewhat run-down, and with no entry fee, so this contributed to an atmosphere. It is now undergoing major renovations so I suspect it will have an entry fee in the future.

The Tenmoden Hall contains a large statue of Hotei, one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japan, and originally a Chinese monk named Budai. In the West, he is often referred to as the Laughing Buddha.

The main hall, Daiyuhoden, was built in 1697. Unlike the other Chinese temples in Nagasaki, much of the woodwork here was left unpainted.

The Bell Tower was built in 1716. Unusually the bell was not "donated" to the war effort in the 1940's like most temple bells.

Another difference between Shofukuji and the other Chinese temples in Nagasaki is that Shofukuji always had Japanese priests, whereas the other three started with Chinese priests.

The Kawarabei is an old wall constructed using old rooftiles and other decorations like Onigawara. Another thing to look out for is a monument to a young woman named Oharu who was expelled from Japan when all foreigners, excluding the Dutch, were expelled. Any Japanese families of Europeans expelled were also exiled. Also in 2020 a statue of Ryoma Sakamoto was erected to memorialize a meeting that took place here between the Tosa and Kishu clans.

The previous post in this series documenting my explorations of Nagasaki on Day 60 of my Kyushu Pilgrimage was on the statuary and architectural details of Kofukuiji Temple.

Around Kawado on the Gonokawa River

 

I begin the second leg of my walk up the Gonokawa River to its source from my home. I live on the other bank to the one I am walking up. My plan is to later walk down the river from the source to the sea on this other bank. Looking across the river you can see a section of the river that has no road on that bank, hence my reason for starting this leg here, rather than Kawahira where I finished the first leg.

Behind me is my village.

Across from my village is where te Yato River enters the Gonokawa. This is a decent-sized tributary with a dam and reservoir and it starts up in the mountains around the ski resorts of Mizuho. The bridge carries the now closed rail line, the Sanko sen that used to follow the river all the way up to Miyoshi in Hiroshima.

On the walk up to the bridge that crosses over to Kawado I pass by the big sacred tree where Tanijyugo has their giant Onusa, purification wand, that pacifies the turbulent water god of the river.

The bridge that crosses the river to Kawado is painted in a very distinctive colour scheme that , I believe, represents the river, the sjy, and cherry blossoms. Not sure when the bridge was built. There was a major flood of Kawado back in the 1960's so it certainly postdates that. I have seen an old photos of a low wooden bridge in the 1920's, but for most of history the on,y wa to cross was by ferry.

Now protected, somewhat, by a high embankment, Kawado used to be the main town of the area. The large building is a traditional soy sauce brewery.

On top of the cliff at the first bend in the river is the Kawado suijin Onusa. This is the biggest one in the area and the main focus of the local Suijin Matsuri.

Looking upstream, that house is the only habitation in the several kilometers between Kawado and Tazu.

Kawabune, a generic term for riverboats. Traditionally made of wood, aluminum, and fibreglass are now more common, as are small outboard motors. I am guessing they are primarily used for fishing for Ayu, sweetfish, similar to trout. Larger, flat-bottomed boats were used for freight.

Looking back downstream to the Kawado Bridge. This next section of the road has no buildings and very little traffic, the main road being on the opposite bank, as it is for most of the river. The rail line is overgrown.

The previous post was on Kawahira.

Kofukuji Temple Details

 

Cracked Ice is the name given to this style of wooden lattice which was very populr in China in the 17th century. Irregular, and as seen here in a window at Kofukuji Temple in Nagasaki, it was made without using nails. This one originally had glass behind it but after the atomic bomb blast was replaced with wood.

Ther is not particularly a lot of statuary on display at Kofukuji, but I was happy to find a couple of Fudo Myo statues.

Known as Budon Mingwang in Chinese, I strongly suspect these were put here after the temple became Japanese.

While there are some Japanese features of the architecture of Kofukuji, most is Chinese, Ming in style. Many of the buildings, including 19th century rebuildings, were manufactured in China and sent to Nagasaki.

As I mentioned, there is not a lot of statuary at Kofukuji, and little in the way of formal gardens, but still I found it quite photogenic,... which is why I have so many photos, hence this second post.

The Gyoban, or "Fish Drum" is a male version. The ball in its mouth symbolizes human desire that is expelled when the drum is hit. Now a second, female, gyoban hangs below this one.

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Standing in front of the statue of Mazu are a pair of beings called Senrigan and Junpuji, said to have been tamed by Mazu. Junpuji means "ears that hear through the winds".

For more details and photos on Kofukuji, please see the previous post Kofukuji Temple.

Kofukuji Temple Nagasaki

 

Kofukuji was the first of the four"Chinese" temples built in Nagasaki.

The Sanmon, main gate, is the largest temple gate in Nagasaki and was rebuilt in Japanese style in 1690 following the destruction by fire of the original Chinese style gate built in 1654, when the Chinese Zen master known in Japan as Ingen was in residence.

The main hall, Daio Hoden, was originally built in 1632 and then rebuilt in 1689 following the fire . It was damaged by a storm in 1865 and then rebuilt in its current form in 1883. Chinese in style, all the wood was prepared in China and shipped to Nagasaki.

The Sanko Kaisha Gate is all that remains of a compound built within the temple grounds for Chinese from the three SE provinces and included lodgings and meeting halls. All except the gate were severely damaged by the atom bomb blast and subsequently demolished.

Kofukuji was established as a Buddhist temple in 1623 toffer funerals and memorial services to the resident Chinese and also possibly to affirm to the authorities that the Chinese were not in any way Christian.

The Honzon enshrined in the main hall is the historical Buddha, known as Shaka Nyorai in Japanese and Daio in Chinese.

The temple expanded greatly after the arrival and residence of  the Chinese monk Yin Yuan, known as Ingen in Japanese. He brought the latest zen teachings and later founded Manpukuji Temple in Kyoto and subsequently the Obaku sect. Kofukuji then became an Obaku temple.

The Maso Do, or Mazu Hall, dates back to 1670 replacing the original that was destroyed by fire. A shrine to Mazu, a seafaring goddess carried on all Chinese ships, was the origin of Kofukuji Temple. The building is completely Chinese in style with many specifically Obaku features.

The gyoban is a wooden fish that is struck like a bell to call monks to meals and is found at many zen temples. The one here at Kofukuji is quite magnificent.

The Maso -do is mostly Japanese architecturally, though some features are obaku.

The belfry is also jaanese in style. The bell was "donated" to the war effort, like many temple bells, in the 1940's

The previous post in this series on day 60 of my Kyushu Pilgrimage was Enmeiji, the temple next door.

Togakuji Temple Matsue

 

Togakuji is a large Soto Zen temple located in the Okudani area of Matsue City, north of the castle.

The entrance passes through a nice raked gravel garden with pine trees.

Throughout the grounds are numerous "cute" statues

As well as many mizuko jizo

This Fudo Myo is in the same hall that houses the 500 Rakan, or arhats, disciples of the Buddha.

They were carved locally between the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century.

The temple was built by the mother of Kojiro Horio, a grandchild of Yoshiharu Horio, the head of the Matsue Domain and builder of Matsue Castle.

Kojiro died young in 1609 and in 1610 the memorial temple was built for him.

Originally located near Gassan Toda Castle, it was moved to its current site in 1613 following the building of Matsue Castle.

The large cemetery contains the tombs and graves of quite a few important local dignitaries.

The area of Okudani is not well visited by tourists but there are several more nice temples and shrines in the vicinity.

The previous post in this series was on the Meimei-an Teahouse Gardens just north of the castle.