Kōfuku-ji Temple, Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan
Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple complex in Nara whose five-storey pagoda, rebuilt in 1426, rises in stacked roofs with upward-curving eaves and dense wooden brackets beneath each tier, topped by a metal spire with rings. A three-storey pagoda from 1185 and the East Golden Hall of 1425 also stand on the grounds, alongside the Central Golden Hall completed in 2018.
The complex originated in 669 in Kyoto as the family temple of the Fujiwara and moved with the capital to Nara in 710. During the Nara and Heian periods the complex grew into one of Japan's most powerful religious centers.
The name Kōfuku-ji, given by Fujiwara no Fuhito, derives from the Vimalakirti Sutra and means "Temple that Generates Blessings". The South Octagonal Hall is stop No. 9 on the Saigoku 33 Pilgrimage, and the East Golden Hall is No. 4 on the Saigoku Yakushi 49 sacred sites. The temple holds the national headquarters of the East Asian Yogācāra (Hossō) school.
The temple grounds are freely accessible all year, while individual halls and the museum require separate admission. The central hall and pagodas sit close together, so a full walk takes about an hour.
The Central Golden Hall burned seven times, starting in 878, and after the 1717 fire stood without a full reconstruction until 2018. The temporary hall built in 1819 then served as a temporary Lecture Hall.
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