Sōfuku-ji, Buddhist temple in Gifu, Japan.
Sōfuku-ji is a Rinzai-shū Myōshin-ji branch temple on the north side of Gifu, at Nagara-Fukumitsu, with the mountain name Jingozan. Its main images are a Jizō Bosatsu of long life and a Shō Kannon. The grounds hold the mausoleum of Oda Nobunaga and his son Nobutada, and the main hall's ceiling is made of boards from Gifu Castle's keep.
Sōfuku-ji was reportedly founded in the Kamakura period, though another account credits Toki Shigeyori and Saitō Nagahiro with building it in 1469 and opening it in 1493. After deterioration, Saitō Toshimasa moved and rebuilt it in 1511 and gave it its present name in 1517; it was earlier called Kōsai-ji. In 1567 Oda Nobunaga made it the Oda family temple, and in 1582 Nobunaga and Nobutada's remains were placed in its mausoleum.
The temple keeps Oda Nobunaga's letter, portrait, a lantern clock and the shachi from Kiyosu Castle, plus items linked to Tokugawa Iemitsu and the Arisugawa-no-miya family. Nobunaga made Sōfuku-ji the Oda family temple in 1567 after mourning his concubine Kitsuno, mother of his heir Nobutada. The temple also holds the graves of Nobunaga and Nobutada, and its former name was Kōsai-ji.
Sōfuku-ji stands at 2403-1 Nagara Fukumitsu, Gifu. The nearest stop is the Gifu Bus "Nagara River International Conference Center North" stop, a two-minute walk away. From JR Gifu Station's north exit, take the Mita-dō line (K50, K51 or K55) from platform 10, or the city loop line from platform 11; from Meitetsu Gifu, the Mita-dō line leaves from the C bay.
The temple's so-called Blood Ceiling (chi-tenjō) was made from the blood-stained floorboards of Gifu Castle's keep after the 1600 siege by Fukushima Masanori and Ikeda Terumasa. The boards were reused as the main hall's ceiling to mourn the 38 warriors who died in the battle. Look up to see the dark stains attributed to their blood.
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