DISCOVER FUKUI

Kongo-in Temple, exuding the simple atmosphere of a mountain temple, is a Soto Zen temple. It was founded in 1433.In 1610, Honda Tomomasa relocated it to its current site, where the castle of the former lord, Aoki Kii-no-kami, once stood. Within th…

• Tannan

The Soja was a shrine invariably established at the location of the provincial capital. In ancient times, one of the major duties of the provincial governor was to make an annual pilgrimage to the principal shrines within the province.The Soja shri…

• Tannan

Shinmei Shrine is also known as Kamisoja Shrine.During the Edo period, this site was known as a place for bowing in worship (fushio-gami) and was a spot for distant worship of Mount Hino, which was revered as the Mt. Fuji of Echizen (present-day no…

• Tannan

One of the few major temples of the Rinzai Zen Kenchiji sect in Wakasa, it is also the 31st temple on the Wakasa Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. It offers zazen meditation sessions to refresh the mind, with the head priest providing instruction in …

• Wakasa

This shrine enshrines Ōyamakui-no-mikoto and Emperor Keitai. Alongside a prefecturally designated cultural property sword and a prayer document, it houses a life-sized, wooden, painted sacred horse. The imposing Suijin Gate and the magnificent carv…

• Awara,Sakai,Fukui

Established in 1522 by Takeda Motomitsu, the governor of Wakasa (now southern Fukui Prefecture), this temple belongs to the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism. Though later falling into disrepair, it was rebuilt by Kyogoku Tadataka. It houses a monument to …

• Wakasa

"Writing things down, Opening the fan, What lingering echoes!" This is a gift verse composed by Matsuo Bashō during his journey along the Narrow Road to the Deep North, when he stopped at Tenryū-ji Temple. The Bashō Tomb was erected in 18…

• Eiheiji, Okuetsu

Mantokuji Temple is a Shingon Buddhist temple best known for its hillside landscape garden and carefully raked rock garden. These gardens are particularly popular destinations when the azaleas bloom in May and June. The temple is also home to a gia…

• Wakasa

It is said to have been founded by the great master Taichō, and in its heyday was a large temple with seven main halls. Today, it enshrines statues of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and the Thousand-Armed Kannon (both designated as prefectural cult…

• Tannan

The great ginkgo tree at Myōkōji Temple is a large female ginkgo located on the western side of the temple grounds and is designated as a Prefectural Natural Monument. Its trunk circumference at breast height is 5.5 meters, its branch spread is app…

• Tannan

Gokō Shrine, with its magnificent sacred gate, enshrines the divine spirits of five generations: from Emperor Keitai and Emperor Ōjin down to Emperor Keitai's father, Prince Hikonozumi. The "Broom Festival" held on April 18th involves parishioners …

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According to records of the Nichiren sect, the temple was founded in 1464. Its founder was Nichin, a Nichiren priest who authored the Treatise on Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Governance of the Nation. However, it was actually Kuwano-ya…

• Tannan

An ancient temple with a thousand-year history. In 1472, under the teachings of Rennyo Shonin, it converted from the Tendai sect to Jodo Shinshu. In 1575, during Oda Nobunaga's campaign against the Echizen Ikkō uprising, Enkyūji's chief priest Ryok…

• Tannan

From the hill with the solitary cherry tree at Zuirinji Temple, you can take in panoramic views of the Sea of Japan, Lake Kuguko (one of the Sanbōgoko lakes), and the fishing village scenery. This location also served as the setting for the film "S…

• Wakasa

The principal image enshrined within the altar cabinet at Suisei-ji Temple is a standing statue of the Eleven-Faced Kannon Bodhisattva. Standing 99 cm tall, it is a yosegi-zukuri (joined wood) sculpture. Its elongated face, large, prominent feature…

• Wakasa

The crimson of the mountain maple leaves beautifully complements the dry landscape garden, soothing the eyes of visitors. The principal image, a wooden seated statue of Amida Nyorai, and the ink-on-silk painting of Miroku Bosatsu are truly worth se…

• Wakasa

This shrine enshrines the spirit of Matsuki Shōzaemon, who, at the beginning of the Edo period, became the representative of farmers in Wakasa suffering under harsh tax collection. He personally petitioned the feudal lord for tax reduction, sacrifi…

• Wakasa

Among the many Buddhas, the wooden standing statue of the Eleven-Faced Kannon Bodhisattva at Haga Temple in Obama (height 146.4 cm, early Heian period, Important Cultural Property) is particularly beautiful. It is said to be modeled after Empress G…

• Wakasa

The Wakasa Kannon Pilgrimage consists of 33 sites. Shion-in Temple is the 28th temple on this pilgrimage route, an ancient temple housing a sacred Kannon statue of the Rinzai sect. The 33 Kannon statues enshrined within the temple buildings were pl…

• Wakasa

Shōraku-ji Temple, the 32nd temple on the Wakasa Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, was founded in 764 by the monk Gyōki. It is said that Gyōki himself carved the principal image, the Sacred Kannon Bodhisattva, from sacred wood found in the mountains …

• Wakasa