Eifuku-ji, Buddhist temple in Imabari, Japan.
Eifuku-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple of the Koyasan school at the foot of Mount Futo in Tamagawa, Imabari. Its grounds rise gently from a gate-less entrance: the bell tower stands on the right, then after a left bend and a few steps the Daishi-do and the main hall face each other. The main image, a seated Amida Buddha, is kept hidden.
According to temple tradition, Kūkai founded Eifuku-ji during the Kōnin era (810–824) on Mount Futō, praying for safe passage through the Seto Inland Sea. In 859 the monk Gyōkyō landed here in a storm and enshrined Hachiman Myōjin on the summit. After the Meiji separation of Shinto and Buddhism, the temple was moved to the foot of the mountain and the Daishi-dō was relocated there.
Eifuku-ji is the 57th stop on the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage. Its name changed over time: it was called Chōfuku-ji, then Jōsen-ji, and only in 1792 received the name Eifuku-ji. The temple's goeika hymn praises Hachiman for protecting this world and Amida for saving the next.
The temple lies about 5.6 km from Imabari Station, reachable by Setouchi Bus to the Osuki stop followed by a 1.4 km walk. There is parking for 10 cars, no large vehicles, for 100 yen. The grounds have no gate; the bell tower stands to the right, and the path bends left past steps to the main hall.
The temple's toilet block, added in 2011, won the 2012 Good Design Award. Architect Shirakawa Aru, brother of head priest Shirakawa Mitsunari, designed three cubicles for men, women and wheelchair users, built from Japanese cypress thinned from local forests so the parts can be assembled on site.
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