Fukushō-ji, Buddhist temple in Kamigyō-ku, Japan
Fukushō-ji is a Shingon temple of the Zentsūji branch in Kamigyō-ku, known as Mine Yakushi and Hyōtan-ji. Its main hall enshrines a Yakushi Nyorai statue and a Shō Kannon, the 29th site of the Rakuyō Sanjūsansho Kannon pilgrimage. The grounds contain a main hall, a thirteen-story stone pagoda, a kuri and a mountain gate.
Fukushō-ji's founding year is unknown; tradition says Kūkai established it in Kawachi Province, and it later declined. In the Shōka era (1257–1259) the monk Kakusai rebuilt it in Kyoto, and by the Tenbun era (1532–1555) it stood at Muromachi-Ichijō. Toyotomi Hideyoshi venerated its Kangiten and donated gourds before battles. Relocated to its present site in 1709, it was an imperial prayer temple under Emperors Go-Yōzei and Go-Sai.
The temple is known as "Hyōtan-ji" (Gourd Temple) because Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a devotee of its Kangiten (Shōten), offered gourds before battles and later joined many into a "thousand-gourd" banner. It is also called "Sakura-dera": Emperor Go-Sai granted it the name of Kannon and a cutting of the Sakura tree from the Shishinden. At Setsubun, gourds prayed over for seven days from the Great Cold are distributed.
Fukushō-ji stands at 323-1 Shichibanchō, Izumidōri Senbon-nishi-iru, Kamigyō-ku. It is about 15 minutes on foot from Nijō Station (JR Sagano Line and Kyoto subway Tōzai Line), about 19 minutes from Kitano-Hakubaichō on the Keifuku Kitano Line, or 2 minutes from the Senbon-Izumi bus stop. The grounds hold the main hall, a thirteen-tier stone pagoda, the kuri and the mountain gate.
The temple is nicknamed Hyōtan-ji, or Gourd Temple, because Toyotomi Hideyoshi is said to have offered gourds to its Kangiten (Shōten) before battles and later joined many of them into a "thousand-gourd" banner. The main image, Yakushi Nyorai, called Mine Yakushi, is said to be carved from the same wood as the Yakushi of Hōraiji in Aichi and to have been made by the sage Rishu.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,528 contributors worldwide.