Chōan-ji Temple, Buddhist temple in Bungotakada-shi, Japan.
Choanji is a Buddhist temple in Bungotakada featuring over 200 Rakan statues spread across its wooded grounds. The property includes ponds and small waterfalls integrated into the natural landscape.
A Tendai temple of the Rokugō Manzan network, Chōan-ji is first documented as the network's head temple in a 1228 register, which calls it Sōzan. Its main image, the 1130 Taro-ten and two attendants, was made by nearly a hundred donors and later served as the deity of Rokusho Gongen Shrine behind the temple until the 1868 separation of Shinto and Buddhism.
The Rakan statues represent Buddha's disciples and each displays a different facial expression. These figures reflect Buddhist devotion and are scattered throughout the wooded grounds among trees and water features.
The temple is open 24 hours daily with free admission, so visitors can arrive at any time. A short walk from the Sengoku bus stop leads directly to the temple grounds.
The temple's main image, the wooden Taro-ten and two attendants, was made in 1130 by nearly a hundred donors, as an ink inscription inside the main figure records. Until the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in the Meiji era it was worshipped as the chief deity of Rokusho Gongen Shrine behind the temple, and it is now a National Important Cultural Property.
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