250px
is one of two main temples of the
Sōtō
Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the ...
school of
Zen
Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity).
The other is
Sōji-ji
is one of two of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism. The other is Eihei-ji temple in Fukui Prefecture. ''Fodor's'' calls it "one of the largest and busiest Buddhist institutions in Japan". The temple was founded in 740 as a Shingon Buddhist temp ...
in
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
. Eihei-ji is located about east of
Fukui in
Fukui Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...
, Japan. In English, its name means "temple of eternal peace" (in Japanese, 'ei' means "eternal", 'hei' means "peaceful", and 'ji' means "Buddhist temple").
Its founder was
Eihei Dōgen, who brought Sōtō Zen from China to Japan during the 13th century. The ashes of Dōgen and a memorial to him are in the ''Jōyōden'' (the Founder's Hall) at Eihei-ji.
William Bodiford of
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
writes that, "The rural monastery Eiheiji in particular aggrandized Dōgen to bolster its own authority ''vis-à-vis'' its institutional rivals within the Sōtō denomination."
Eihei-ji is a training monastery with more than two hundred monks and nuns in residence. As of 2003, Eihei-ji had 800,000 visitors per year, less than half the number of tourists who came ten years before. Visitors with Zen experience may participate after making prior arrangements, and all visitors are treated as religious trainees.
In keeping with Zen's
Mahayana
Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
tradition, the iconography in various buildings is an array of potential confusion for newcomers: at the ''Sanmon'' are four kings standing guard named ''
Shitenno''; the Buddha hall's main altar has three statues of Buddhas
past
The past is the set of all Spacetime#Definitions, events that occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human ...
,
present
The present is the period of time that is occurring now. The present is contrasted with the past, the period of time that has already occurred; and the future, the period of time that has yet to occur.
It is sometimes represented as a hyperplan ...
and
future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...
; the ''Hatto'' displays ''
Kannon
Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...
'' the
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
of compassion, and four white lions (called the ''a-un no
shishi''); the ''Yokushitsu'' has ''Baddabara''; the ''Sanshokaku'' has a statue of ''
Hotei
Hotei may refer to:
*Hotei Station, a Japanese train station
*Tomoyasu Hotei, a Japanese musician
*Budai, known as "Hotei" in Japanese, a semi-historical monk and deity
*''Coralliophila hotei'', a species of sea snail
*''School Judgement: Gakkyu H ...
''; and the ''Tosu'' displays ''
Ucchusma
Ucchuṣma (; Rōmaji: ''Eshaku Kongō'') is a Wisdom King, Vidyārāja in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
Ucchuṣma's full name in Sanskrit sources is ''Vajra Krodha Mahābala Ucchuṣma'' (lit. "Great Strength Furious Diamond Ucchuṣma"). ...
''.
History

Dōgen founded Eihei-ji in 1244 with the name ''Sanshoho Daibutsuji'' in the woods of rural Japan, quite far from the distractions of
Kamakura period
The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...
urban life. He appointed a successor, but sometime after his death the abbacy of Eihei-ji became hotly disputed, a schism now called the ''
sandai sōron
The ''sandai sōron'' (三代相論), or third-generation differentiation, was a putative dispute over the orthodoxy and succession of Sōtō Zen Buddhism. The major figures involved were Jakuen, Gikai, Gien, and Giin, all of whom claimed the ri ...
''. Until 1468, Eihei-ji was not held by the current
Keizan
Keizan Jōkin (, 1268–1325), also known as Taiso Jōsai Daishi, is considered to be the second great founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. While Dōgen, as founder of Japanese Sōtō, is known as , Keizan is often referred to as .
Keiz ...
line of Sōtō, but by the line of Dōgen's Chinese disciple
Jakuen.
[William M. Bodiford. ''Sōtō Zen in Medieval Japan''. University of Hawaii Press, 1993.] After 1468, when the Keizan line took ownership of Eihei-ji in addition to its major temple
Sōji-ji
is one of two of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism. The other is Eihei-ji temple in Fukui Prefecture. ''Fodor's'' calls it "one of the largest and busiest Buddhist institutions in Japan". The temple was founded in 740 as a Shingon Buddhist temp ...
and others, Jakuen's line and other alternate lines became less prominent.
As Eihei-ji and Sōji-ji became rivals over the centuries, Eihei-ji made claims based on the fact of Dōgen's original residence there. William Bodiford of UCLA wrote:
The entire temple was destroyed by fire several times. During the late 16th century, disciples of
Ikkō-shū attacked and burned the temple and surrounding buildings.
Its oldest standing structure dates from 1794.
Physical layout

Today the temple grounds cover about .
The ''Butsuden'' (Buddha hall) main altar carries statues of the Buddhas of the Three Times: right to left,
Amida
Amida can mean :
Places and jurisdictions
* Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of:
** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida
** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Ro ...
Butsu (past),
Shakyamuni Butsu (present), and
Miroku Bosatsu (future).
Among the temple's 70 structures
are the ''
Sanmon
A or is the most important mon of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen '' shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other denominations ...
'' (gate), ''
Hatto'' (lecture hall), ''Sōdo'' (Priest's or meditation hall), ''Daiku-in'' (kitchen, three stories and a basement),
''Yokushitsu'' (bath) and ''Tosu'' (toilet, Dōgen's ''
Shōbōgenzō
is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th-century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...
'' includes a chapter on manners appropriate for the toilet. Most of his rules are still followed today
). The ''
Shōrō
The two main types of bell tower in Japan
The or is the bell tower of a Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple in Japan, housing the temple's . It can also be found at some Shinto shrines which used to function as temples (see article ' ...
'' (belfry) holds the ''obon sho'', the great brahman bell. The ''Shidoden'' (Memorial Hall) contains thousands of tablets for deceased laypersons. The ''Joyoden'' (Founders hall) contains the ashes of Dōgen and his successors.
Here, images of the deceased are served food daily like they are living teachers. The ''Kichijokaku'' (visitor's center) is a large four-story modern building for lay persons, with kitchen, bath, sleeping rooms and a hall for zazen.
The bronze temple bell dates to 1327 and is an
Important Cultural Property. The
Sanmon
A or is the most important mon of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen '' shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other denominations ...
and
Central Gate date from the 1794 rebuilding and are
Prefectural Cultural Properties. A number of important manuscripts belong to the temple, including the
National Treasure ''Universally Recommended Instructions for
Zazen
''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition.
The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...
'', by temple founder
Dōgen
was a Japanese people, Japanese Zen Buddhism, Buddhist Bhikkhu, monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (), Eihei Dōgen (), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (), and Busshō Dent� ...
(1233); teachings he brought back from
Song
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
China (1227); and a record of a subsidy for the earlier Sanmon in the hand of
Emperor Go-En'yū (1372).
Spread over a hillside, the complex is surrounded by
cedar trees, some tall and as old as the temple.
It is surrounded by bright green
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...
-covered boulders, and
Japanese maple
''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: ''danpungnamu'' []; Japanese: ''irohamomiji'' [] or ''momiji'' []), is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongol ...
s that turn red and gold during autumn.
Training

Today, Eihei-ji is the main training temple of Sōtō Zen. The standard training for a priest in Eihei-ji is from three months to a two-year period of practice. It is in communion with all Japanese Soto Zen temples, and some temples in America, including the
San Francisco Zen Center
San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. ...
.
Fukuyama Taiho
Zenji is the head priest or abbot, who oversees trainees at Eihei-ji, and also serves as the head priest of Sotoshu (the Sōtō school of Zen) for two years beginning late January 2012. Head priests at Eihei-ji and Sōji-ji alternate terms leading Sotoshu. Fukuyama Zenji is serving his second term (his first term was from January 2008 to January 2010).
About two hundred or two hundred fifty
priests and nuns
in training are in residence.
A single
tatami
are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about , depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition.
...
, a by mat laid in rows on a raised platform called a ''tan'' in a common room, is provided for each trainee to eat, sleep, and meditate on.
The monks start their day at 3:30 a.m., or one hour later during winter, when they do
zazen
''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition.
The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...
and read and chant
sutra
''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...
s. Breakfast is a bowl of
rice gruel
Congee ( , derived from Tamil ), is a form of savoury rice porridge made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens. Depending on rice–water ratio, the thickness of congee varies from a Western oatmeal porridge to a g ...
with
pickles
Pickle, pickled or Pickles may refer to:
Food
* Pickle, a food that has undergone pickling
* Pickled cucumber
* Pickle, a sweet, vinegary pickled chutney popular in Britain, such as Branston Pickle, also known as "sweet pickle" or "ploughman's ...
.
Then they do chores: clean, weed and, if needed, shovel snow. The floors and corridors have been polished smooth by daily cleaning for hundreds of years.
Then they read and chant again. Dinner at 5 p.m. is meagre and ritualized: the position of the bowl and utensils is observed. Zazen or a lecture follows before bed at 9 p.m.
The trainees shave each other's heads and take a bath every five days
(every time the date contains a 4 or 9).

Eihei-ji has sought, since medieval times, a source of income by soliciting monks to purchase honorary titles.
Monks may progress through four ''hōkai'' (dharma ranks) with some time requirements of months or years between ranks. The final step in becoming a priest is which means becoming (abbot for one night) at both head temples (Eihei-ji and Sōji-ji). ''Zuise'' entails paying each temple 50,000 yen (about 605 as of April 2012) for the ceremony (and about 50 to the official photographer). A monk receives an honorary meal and a bag of souvenirs at Eihei-ji and then, within one month, repeats the ceremony at Sōji-ji. The monk is then considered an ''oshō'' (priest and teacher).
Tourism

Visitors must dress modestly and keep silent. They may attend one to three day meditation retreats for a fee.
Each visitor receives a list of rules, for example photography of the priests-in-training is prohibited.
More than one million visitors used to pass through the gates of Eihei-ji,
but as of 2003 only 800,000 came, a period in which the train service from Fukui to nearby
Eiheijiguchi Station was temporarily halted.
A memorial service, a major source of revenue for Eihei-ji,
has been held every fifty years since the 16th century on the anniversary of Dōgen ''Zenjis entering nirvana. For example, in 1752 about 23,700 monks attended, which raised enough money to rebuild the main gate.
Groups from all over the world including a group from San Francisco formed to make a pilgrimage to Eihei-ji for the 750th anniversary in 2002.
In 1905, Eihei-ji held its first conference called ''Genzō e'' on Dōgen Zenji's ''
Shōbōgenzō
is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th-century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...
''. It succeeded in attracting so many interested parties that it became an annual event. Monks and laypersons, along with academic and popular writers can attend workshops each year.
The
Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins and museum are about from Fukui and are reachable from the temple. Five generations of the
Asakura ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...
'' clan lived there until 1573, when the town was razed by
Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...
loyalists.
A walking trail connects Eihei-ji with Yoshimine-dera Temple (Kippō-ji, 吉峯寺), another Zen temple where Dōgen had resided at, via a mountain ridge.
Denuclearization
Following the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
, according to ''Religious Dispatches'' magazine, Eihei-ji "mobilized clergy to accompany members of its volunteer organization Shanti International Association who will travel to northeastern Japan to aid in relief efforts".
Then in November 2011, priests at Eihei-ji held a symposium for 300 people called ''Cherish Our Lives: The Way of Living that We don't Choose Nuclear Power Generation'' on the subject of
denuclearization
Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Its end state can also be a nuclear-weapons-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. The term ''denuclearization'' is also used to describe the pro ...
. Two reactors in Fukui Prefecture were given the names of bodhisattvas:
Monju Nuclear Power Plant and
Fugen Nuclear Power Plant. The chairman of the
Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation had apparently misunderstood upon visiting the temple. When he told the abbot the proposed names, the ''Zenji'' had replied, "That's nice." After the symposium, a priest explained, "We have realized that the nuclear power generation goes against life on the earth."
Gallery
File:Eiheiji34st3200.jpg, ''Hatto'' (Dharma hall)
File:Eiheiji Shidoden.jpg, ''Shidoden'' (Memorial Hall)
File:Eihei-ji Yokushitsu 永平寺 浴室.jpg, ''Yokushitsu'' (bath)
File:Eiheiji15s4592.jpg, One of the covered corridors
File:The main entrance of Eihei ji.jpg, The main entrance
File:Eiheiji main gate.jpg, Sakamon Gate
File:A stream flowing beside Eiheiji.jpg, A stream flowing beside Eiheiji
Branches
;Japan
* Chōkoku-ji (長谷寺), also known as the Eihei-ji Tokyo Betsuin (永平寺東京別院), in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
.
* Chuō-ji (中央寺), also known as the Eihei-ji Sapporo Betsuin (永平寺札幌別院), in
Sapporo
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...
.
* Taianden-gokoku-in (泰安殿護国院), also known as the Eihei-ji Nagoya Betsuin (永平寺名古屋別院), in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
.
* Shōryū-ji (紹隆寺), also known as the Eihei-ji Kagoshima Shutchōjo (永平寺鹿児島出張所), in
Kagoshima
, is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Etymology
While the ...
.
;U.S.A
*
Zenshuji Soto Mission
See also
*
List of National Treasures of Japan (writings)
Lists of National Treasures of Japan cover different types of National Treasure (Japan), National Treasure of Japan. They include buildings and fine arts and crafts.
Buildings and structures
*List of National Treasures of Japan (castles), for str ...
*
Japanese Buddhist architecture
Examples of Buddhist architecture in Japan
Japanese Buddhist architecture is the architecture of Buddhist temples in Japan, consisting of locally developed variants of architectural styles born in China.p=716/ref> After Buddhism arrived from ...
Notes
External links
Film 'Life of Zen', depicting life at Eihei-ji and Soji-jiEiheiji Temple- Enjoy Fukui / Fukui Prefecture & Fukui Prefectural Tourism Federation
{{Authority control
Religious organizations established in the 1240s
Soto temples
Buddhist temples in Fukui Prefecture
1240s establishments in Japan
1244 establishments in Asia
Eiheiji, Fukui
Echizen Province
Dōgen
Fukui Prefecture designated tangible cultural property
National Treasure of Fukui Prefecture
Important Cultural Properties of Fukui Prefecture