Kofukuji Temple

Kofukuji Temple

Kofukuji Temple (興福寺) in Noboriojicho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, has four buildings designated National Treasures on March 29, 1952, the Five-Storied Pagoda of 1426, the Eastern Golden Hall of 1415, the Northern Octagonal Hall of 1210 and the early Kamakura Three-Storied Pagoda, and two designated as an Important Cultural Property, the Southern Octagonal Hall of 1741 and the mid-Muromachi Great Bathhouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The four National Treasures were also designated under the former law in 1897.

According to the Agency, Kofukuji began as Yamashina-dera, built by the wife of Fujiwara no Kamatari at his wish; it moved to Asuka as Umayasaka-dera and was rebuilt on its present site by his son Fuhito when the capital moved to Heijo-kyo.

The Six Buildings

The Five-Storied Pagoda goes back to a foundation by Empress Komyo in 730; the present tower, a little over 50 metres high, is second in height only to Toji's among surviving five-storied pagodas. The Eastern Golden Hall goes back to Emperor Shomu's foundation of 726 and keeps an open front row of bays in the Nara tradition. The Agency names these two as leading examples of the pure Japanese style of the Muromachi period.

The Northern Octagonal Hall rebuilds a hall raised in 721 for the first anniversary of Fuhito's death and, with the Three-Storied Pagoda, records Kofukuji as rebuilt in the Kamakura period; the pagoda itself is slender and graceful in the Heian manner, with a thousand Buddhas painted inside. The Southern Octagonal Hall is an Edo-period octagon in the old style that invites comparison with the Northern one, and the Great Bathhouse is the temple bath, hip-and-gable on the west and gabled on the east (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each building is described on its own page.

Visiting

No official information on visiting hours or fees was found. According to Nara Prefecture, the Five-Storied Pagoda is undergoing its first major repair in 120 years, from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2033.