Gufukuji Temple, Buddha San, Shingon Sect, Buzan School
(at the remains of Kawaharadera Temple)

A joy to imagine, or a joy to be free of thoughts, which do you choose?

The temple just makes us remind of the early Japan of 1,400 years ago (the Asuka period) and also tells us about a 1,200-year-old prayer of the Heian period.

This is the place where you can touch, feel and appreciate the atmosphere of the ancient Asuka region, the spiritual home of Japan.

The temple has so many historic episodes and your imagination and experiences there can make the small but great temple even greater.

Gufukuji Temple, Buddha San, Shingon Sect, Buzan School
(at the remains of Kawaharadera Temple)

A joy to imagine, or a joy to be free of thoughts, which do you choose?

The temple just makes us remind of the early Japan of 1,400 years ago (the Asuka period) and also tells us about a 1,200-year-old prayer of the Heian period.

This is the place where you can touch, feel and appreciate the atmosphere of the ancient Asuka region, the spiritual home of Japan.

The temple has so many historic episodes and your imagination and experiences there can make the small but great temple even greater.

About 1,400 years ago in the Asuka period, Kawaharadera Temple suddenly appeared in the Chronicles of Japan (Nihon Shoki).
The temple was one of the four major temples of the Asuka region.

It had the tremendously huge precincts. As long as the latest excavation has shown, it measured more than 150m from the east to west, and 330m from the north to south.

The temple compound was very rare in its layout of the buildings, and called “one pagoda with two worship halls style” or “Kawaharadera Temple style”. There was a lecture hall where monks studied Buddhist doctrines, that connected to their dormitory. The dormitory building surrounded the lecture hall from the three sides; east, west and north.

Although temple had heavily been appreciated for the national events at the Emperor Temmu’s reign, it disappeared from the front stage of the history thereafter.

Kawaharadera Temple, with little references to the Chronicles and topographies, left numbers of mysteries, while it was closely related to Kobo Daishi Kukai, the founder of the Shingon Sect of Esoteric Buddhism.

The temple later revived as Gufukuji Temple.

Gufukuji Temple took over Kawaharadera’s light of Buddhism, the relics, the 1,200 years of ordinary people’s belief, and one of the most nostalgic landscapes of Japan known for the Asuka breeze.

We look forward to seeing you here quietly, but with lots of excitement!

About 1,400 years ago in the Asuka period, Kawaharadera Temple suddenly appeared in the Chronicles of Japan (Nihon Shoki).
The temple was one of the four major temples of the Asuka region.

It had the tremendously huge precincts. As long as the latest excavation has shown, it measured more than 150m from the east to west, and 330m from the north to south.

The temple compound was very rare in its layout of the buildings, and called “one pagoda with two worship halls style” or “Kawaharadera Temple style”. There was a lecture hall where monks studied Buddhist doctrines, that connected to their dormitory. The dormitory building surrounded the lecture hall from the three sides; east, west and north.

Although temple had heavily been appreciated for the national events at the Emperor Temmu’s reign, it disappeared from the front stage of the history thereafter.

Kawaharadera Temple, with little references to the Chronicles and topographies, left numbers of mysteries, while it was closely related to Kobo Daishi Kukai, the founder of the Shingon Sect of Esoteric Buddhism.

The temple later revived as Gufukuji Temple.

Gufukuji Temple took over Kawaharadera’s light of Buddhism, the relics, the 1,200 years of ordinary people’s belief, and one of the most nostalgic landscapes of Japan known for the Asuka breeze.

We look forward to seeing you here quietly, but with lots of excitement!

What would you like to see at Kawaharadera/ Gufukuji Temple?

What would you like to see at Kawaharadera/ Gufukuji Temple?