DISCOVER FUKUI

This Jodo-shu temple is a major temple with five sub-temples. It stands on the site of the former Shinshokoji Castle, built during the Nanbokucho period of 1336-1392 by Shiba (Ashikaga) Takatsune, the provincial governor of Echizen Province (presen…

• Tannan

By imperial decree issued by Emperor Shomu in 741, Kokubunji Temple was built in Takefu (present-day Echizen City), where the provincial capital was located. Today, it stands modestly beside the Soja Grand Shrine, but at the time of its founding, E…

• Tannan

In 887, Chūnagon Nariyuki, exiled to Echizen (present-day northern Fukui Prefecture), prayed here continuously to clear his name of false charges. Soon after, he was pardoned and returned to the capital. Grateful, he built the shrine hall, which is…

• Tannan

The main hall, built approximately 500 years ago, is a graceful shrine designated as a National Important Cultural Property. Its architecture masterfully blends Japanese, Tang, and Indian styles. The vermilion-lacquered mountain gate within the pre…

• Tannan

The garden features the "Statue of the Young Dogen," depicting Zen Master Dogen in his youth when he resolved to become a monk, alongside the "Jojō Pagoda" built to repay the kindness of his master, Zen Master Jōjō, and the grav…

• Eiheiji, Okuetsu

This shrine was built as the guardian deity of the Kuzuryu River for the protection of the land and the people.It is said to be home to one of the four great deities of ancient Japan, and is also the prayer place of the Echizen Matsudaira family.Th…

• Awara,Sakai,Fukui

Just beside Mikata Station stands the Mikata Stone Kannon. As you climb the stone steps, you'll find a stone rooster partway up. Legend has it that Kobo Daishi, carving the Kannon statue overnight, heard the rooster crow at dawn and left the right …

• Wakasa

Founded by the great monk Taichō, this site is said to have flourished greatly from the late Heian period through the Kamakura period. The stone nine-story pagoda, designated a National Important Cultural Property, stands at the foot of the mountai…

• Tannan

Shizuhara Village's Shirayama Shrine stands quietly, with ancient cedar and zelkova trees of unknown age standing side by side before its torii gate. Until the late Edo period, Noh plays were dedicated here, and many ancient Noh masks, costumes, an…

• Tannan

As per the words of the deity Ichimon, who said "Do not build a shrine," Wakasa Town's Ichimon Shrine is a rare "shrine without a shrine building" in Japan. It is said that if you make a single wish with a pure heart and tell no one, it will come t…

• Wakasa

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

A direct branch temple of Eiheiji, the head temple of the Soto Zen sect, and the family temple of the Sabae domain lords, the Kanbe clan. The ceiling ink paintings "Wind God," "Dragon God," and "Thunder God," painted by the 7th domain lord, Kanbe A…

• Tannan

A shrine dedicated to Emperor Keitai. Legend holds that Emperor Keitai lived in Ajimano before his ascension to the throne. During the Muromachi period, the Kuratani clan maintained a castle here, and remnants of earthen ramparts remain to the nort…

• Tannan

Sōtō Zen sect. The first temple of the Wakasa Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage. Founded in 1413 in what is now Eishin-chō. Relocated to its present site in 1607 by Uta no Sōtei.　The Mito Tengu Party included 11 young boys. It is said that Ryudo, the…

• Wakasa

The principal statue of Kannon Bodhisattva lacks a right hand. Legend has it that Kobo Daishi carved the statue overnight, but when a rooster crowed at dawn, he descended the mountain leaving only the right wrist behind. For this reason, it is said…

• Wakasa

Maiji Temple, the second temple of the Hokuriku Thirty-Three Kannon Pilgrimage, is said to have been founded by Prince Shōtoku. Its principal image, a wooden seated statue of the Horse-Head Kannon, is designated a National Important Cultural Proper…

• 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 seated statue of Amida Nyorai, modeled after the style of the Buddhist sculptor Jocho, glows brilliantly in gold, while nine celestial dancers gracefully dance on its halo. It is the largest sculpture in the town and, together with the standing…

• 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

This Soto Zen temple serves as the family temple of the Sakai clan, lords of Obama Domain, and houses the graves of successive generations. It stands on the site of the 1552 residence of Wakasa guardian Takeda Motomitsu, surrounded by moats dug int…

• Wakasa