Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

located in the city of Bungotakada,

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,081,646 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, K ...

Japan. it is a temple of the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

sect, and its '' honzon'' is a statue of Amida Nyorai. Claimed to have been founded in 718 AD, the temple was also called "Amida-ji". The precincts of the temple were designated a National Historic Site in 2013.

History

The Kunisaki Peninsula, where Fuki-ji is located, is a land closely related to Usa Jingū, which was an early center for ''

Shinbutsu-shūgō ''Shinbutsu-shūgō'' (, "syncretism of kami and buddhas"), also called ''Shinbutsu-konkō'' (, "jumbling up" or "contamination of kami and buddhas"), is the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, Buddhism that was Japan's main organized rel ...

'' a syncretistic belief system of

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

and

Japanese Buddhism Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185－1333). During the Edo period (1603–1868), Buddhism was cont ...

, from the early

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

. Fuki-ji, like many other temples on the Kunisaki Peninsula, claims to have been founded in 718 by a monk named Ninmon ( 仁聞). Ninmon, a mostly a legendary figure, is said to have been associated with the six townships on the Kunisaki Peninsula (Musashi, Kunawa, Kunisaki, Tashibu, Aki), where he founded 28 temples and constructed 69,000 Buddha statues. Due to a lack of historical records from the time, the exact origins of these temples remain mostly unknown. The temples related to Ninmon in the Kunisaki Peninsula area are collectively called ''Rokugōyama'' or '' Rokugō Manzan''. These temples were also an early center and training ground for the Shugendō mountain cults, which flourished especially from the late Nara period and the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. The ''Rokugōmanzan'' temples were under the control of Miroku-ji, a Hossō sect temple that was the Jingū-ji of Usa Jingū. In the late Heian period, these temples switched to the

sect. Per a guide dated 1168, Fuki-ji was a place of prayer for successive generations of the Usa clan, the chief priests of Usa Jingū. At Fuki-ji, there is a mask of an ''

oni An ( ) is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. They are believed to live in caves or deep in the mountains or in hell. Oni are known for their superhuman strength and have been associated with powers like th ...

'' with an inscription dating from 1147; therefore the temple existed by this time, but details of what happened before then are unknown. The existing Main Hall is thought to have been built in the 12th century. During the Tenshō era (1573-1592), many Buddhist temples were destroyed by the '' Kirishitan'' ''

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 ...

'' Ōtomo Sorin, but the main hall of Fuki-ji was spared. However, it gradually went into decline, and by the mid-

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, only the main hall (called here the ) remained.

Cultural Properties

The Ō-dō was built in the late

, around the 12th century, and is a typical example of Amida-do architecture, as well as the oldest wooden structure in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

. It is designated a National Treasure. The structure is a three-by-four bay hall with chamfered pillars side beams. There are two eaves with tall rafters. The roof is of "treasure-box" style construction and has roof tiles. A ''Shumidan'' altar fills the entire inner sanctum, and a seated statue of Amida Nyorai (late Heian period, Important Cultural Property is enshrined on the altar. The walls and pillars are decorated with murals. These paintings are also designated as Important Cultural Properties.

Access

The temple is approximately 40 minutes by car from Oita Airport, or approximately 30 minutes by car from Usa Station on the

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Nippō Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, in southern Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Also known as the Fukuhoku Nippo Line, The line connects Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, K ...

Events

Fuki-ji is known for the gingko leaves that surround the temple in autumn which create the appearance of a golden carpet."Fukiji Temple"
retrieved May 31 2024

References

External links