DISCOVER FUKUI

This temple belongs to the Shin-shū Izumoji sect. A garden lies south of the temple's kitchen quarters and is designated a National Scenic Spot. It is a landscape garden borrowing the mountain range of the Hinoyama range as its backdrop, featuring the thatched tea house "Unzan-tei" and the small tea room "Issō-an". Beneath a large holly tree estimated to be 400 years old in the rear left corner, a sacred stone is placed on a small stone pedestal.

Jofukuji Temple is said to have been founded in the Kamakura period by Yasumori, the eldest son of Taira no Yorimori, the half-brother of Taira no Kiyomori. Yorimori's mother was Zenni of Ike, who saved Minamoto no Yoritomo's life. This particular branch of the Taira clan alone remained in the capital under Yoritomo's protection, even after the rest of the Taira clan was expelled from the capital by the Minamoto faction. It is said that Yasumori entered the priesthood in Echizen and established Jofukuji Temple to console the souls of the Heike clan.