Daio Hoden (Main Hall) Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property

The Main Hall of Kofukuji, the Daio Hoden, was originally constructed in 1632 (Kan'ei 9) by the Second Abbot, Zen Master Mokusu Nyojo, but was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in 1689 (Genroku 2), but this building was severely damaged in a great wind in 1865 (Keio 1). The present structure was built in 1883 (Meiji 16). A large plaque bearing the inscription in Zen Master Ingen's hand, "Daio Hoden", hangs over the central doorway on the facade, while the front hall, or porch, is open to the front garden. Chinese-style folding doors (oritobira) open into the spacious interior of the main hall, whose floor is covered with square floor tiles. The principal image of the temple, the Buddha Shakyamuni (Shaka Nyorai), is seated on a central dais, flanked by images of the Bodhisattvas Juntei Kannon and Jizo. The name of the hall, Daio Hoden,or "Hall of the Treasured Daio" derives from the main image, Shakyamuni, who is also known as "Daio".
The Main Hall is built in a purely Chinese architectural style, and consists almost entirely of wood carved and prepared in China for export to Japan. The architectural style of this double roofed and hipped gable hall is grand and ornate, in sharp contrast to the simpler lines of Japanese architecture. Elements of late Ming and Qing Dynasty architecture appear throughout the interior and exterior decor of the building. For example, images of people, birds, animals, and flora are carved on to the pillars and beams. Other details, such as the "cracked ice" carved lattices surrounding the round windows, the vaulted "Obaku ceiling" in the front gallery, and gourd-shaped finial on the center of the ridgepole (at the central point of the roof), are all extremely rare in buildings in Japan. As a representative example of Southern Chinese architecture it was designated as a National Treasure before World War II despite its relatively recent Meiji-era date, and was redesignated as an Important Cultural Property in the revised cultural property administration after the war's end.

Ruri-to "Glass Lantern" (Interior of Main Hall) Municipally Designated Cultural Property

Hanging from the center of the ceiling inside the Daio Hoden, the Ruri-to (glass lantern) was imported from Shanghai and assembled inside the hall. A work of superior craftsmanship of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1910), the lantern is adorned with intricate carvings of human figures, coiled dragons and other motifs. This lantern is the largest extant example of its type in Japan. The use of glass instead of paper or silk on the sides of the lantern is characteristic of the international character of Shanghai in the late Qing Dynasty, a time in which the incorporation western design elements was in vogue. The lantern measures 2.18 meters in height, 1.3 meters in width.

Maso-do (Mazu Hall, also known as "Bosa-do") Prefecturally Designated Cultural Property

Maso, also known as the "Heavenly Empress Mother", the Chinese protector goddess of the sea, is a syncretic deity who was originally the object of popular worship in Fujian Province in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Worship of Maso spread throughout China during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), when she was enshrined on ships carrying rice from southern China north to Beijing. During the Ming Dynasty, veneration of Maso spread through international trade to Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
Portable shrines to Maso were also kept on Chinese ships that traded with Nagasaki, and were transferred to worship halls in the Chinese temples in Nagasaki while the ships were in port. This ritual transfer was called the "Bosatsu age" ("raising of the bodhisattva"), and provided the occasion for a lively parade and other festivities. The original Maso Hall at Kofukuji was destroyed in the Great Nagasaki Fire of 1663 (Kanbun 3), but is thought to have been rebuilt in 1670 (Kanbun 10). The hall's ceiling is shaped like the inverted hull of a ship, in another reference to the enshrined deity's identity as the protectress of seafarers. Maso is seated in the center of the rear of the hall, and is accompanied by numerous other deities, including the red and blue demons who stand before her. These demons, tamed by Maso, are actually the benevolent beings Senrigan and Junpuji, whose very names--literally "eyes that see a thousand leagues" and "ears that hear through the winds"--convey their powers. The hall was built in a fundamentally Japanese architectural style, painted vermilion on the interior and exterior. Elements of "Obaku-style" architecture grace the structure, however, and are especially evident in the vaulted Obaku ceiling of the front gallery, the half-length doors, and the interior ceiling.

Shokoro (Belfry) Prefecturally Designated Cultural Property

The fifth abbot of Kofukuji, Zen Master Eppo, rebuilt the Belfry in 1691 (Genroku 4), after it was destroyed in the fire of 1663. The structure was completely renovated by Japanese carpenters in 1730 (Kyoho 15), and on numerous times since then. Built in an essentially Japanese architectural style, the belfry consists of two floors. The bronze bell was hung in the upper story, where a great drum remains. The lower story functions as a meditation chamber. The bell was destroyed during World War II, when it was donated for arms production. Cusped arched windows (kato-mado) on all four sides of the second floor originally aided in resonating the sound of the bell and drum. Demon-mask tiles on the corners of the roof facing outward (towards the Sanmon Gate) protect from malevolent forces, while corner tiles facing inward (towards the Daio Hoden) bear the form of Daikokuten, one of the popular "Seven Lucky Gods" (Shichi Fukujin). This combination of corner tiles shaped like demon-masks and the benevolent deity Daikokuten is extremely rare, and probably represents a visual interpretation of the saying "Demons out! Happiness inside!" ("Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi") by a Japanese carpenter.

Sanko Kaisho-mon (Sanjiang Society Gate) Prefecturally Designated Cultural Property

For Chinese emigres in Nagasaki, Kofukuji functioned from its beginnings as both a home temple,and also as a gathering place for people from the same region. In the first year of the Meiji era, 1868, when Japan officially ended its closed country policy, Chinese emigres were no longer required to live in Nagasaki's Chinese quarter, and were free to settle in other parts of the city. As a result many of the old Chinese residences were closed. In the same year, Chinese residents whose ancestors originally came from the "Sanjiang" (J: Sanko)--the three southeastern provinces of Jiangnan, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi--erected the Sanko Shido Hall at Kofukuji as a site for ancestor worship. In 1880 (Meiji 13) they established the Sanjiang Society. Members of the society pooled a percentage of their individual profits, built houses for rent in the temple's precincts in order to raise funds for the maintenance of their building. The Society provided lodging for members, held ceremonies and other regular gatherings, but the buildings were greatly damaged in the great wind that resulted from the dropping of the atomic bomb in August, 1945. Only the gate remains. This gate was constructed in the style of a "nagaya" (long house) gate, with the entryway in the center flanked by chambers for storage on either side. Architectural details include the round windows on the side chambers, white walls, and tiles over the central entrance placed higher than on the sides. The carvings on the brackets and other structural components are detailed in a pure Chinese style, and are believed to have been prepared by the same carpenters who built the Daio Hoden. The high threshold sill, called a "butagaeshi" (literally, "keeping pigs out"), derives from a form originally designed to keep pigs from wandering through the gate, and is characteristic of Chinese vernacular architectural style.

San-mon Prefecturally Designated Cultural Property

The Sanmon is a single-story structure two bays deep, built with eight pillars, three doorways, and a hipped gable roof. Painted vermilion and covered with intricately carved ornaments, it is the largest temple gate in Nagasaki. The Sanmon was first built with donations from throughout Japan in 1654 (Jo'o 3) when Zen Master Ingen resided in Nagasaki, but was destroyed along with the rest of the temple in the Great Nagasaki Fire nine years later. The present Sanmon dates to 1690 (Genroku 3), when Japanese carpenters reconstructed it in a basically Japanese architectural style. It was greatly damaged in the wind from the atomic bomb in 1945, but was subsequently restored. The plaques that hang in the upper portion of the Sanmon bear calligraphy by Zen Master Ingen, and are inscribed with Chinese characters that mean "First Ascent to the Treasured Realm" and "Mountain of Eastern Light".

Tohjin Yashiki-mon (Gate from Former Chinese Residents House) (Property of Nagasaki City) Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property

In 1641 (Kan'ei 8) the Dutch residents of Nagasaki were confined to the island of Dejima, but Chinese residents of the city enjoyed relative freedom of movement for another fifty years. From 1689, however, Chinese residents from the ship captains down to their crews were required to live in the Juzenji neighborhood (modern Kannai-cho). The reason for new policy of congregated residence was officially to prevent unlicensed commercial activity, but the Chinese residents and emigres were allowed modest freedom of movement, especially compared to that allowed to the Dutch on Dejima. The new Chinese residents' neighborhood in Juzenji covered a relatively large area of about four hectares and was comprised of houses, shops and restaurants, and shrines for ancestor-worship, and became a thriving community known by various names, including "Tokan" and "Tojin Yashiki". Although fires and relocation have left none of the original buildings in the area, the present gate survives as a single example of the type of gate that stood before houses in the old Chinese settlement. Because of its great historical value, the gate was relocated in 1960 to Kofukuji for preservation. The gate consists of three doorways; the double doors in the center were restricted for the use of visiting guests. The wood used for the gate is Chinese broad-leaf cypress,and the architectural details are typical of Chinese residential style. It is unclear when the gate was built, but it is thought to postdate the fire that destroyed the Chinese settlement in 1784 (Tenmei 4).

Daigaku-mon (Cultural Prop"Great Learning" Gate from Nakashima Seido) (Property of Nagasaki City) Prefecturally Designated Important Property

The Nagasaki Seido was built in 1647 (Shoho 4) by Mukai Gensho, as the oldest Confucius Hall in Japan. Along with the others, the Yushima Seido in Edo, and the Taku Seido in Saga Prefecture, the Nagasaki Seido was constructed to venerate the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius, whose social and moral philosophy exerted a tremendous influence on Japan from as early as the fourth century. The Nagasaki Seido suffered fires and other damage, but was rebuilt on a grand scale in 1711 (Shotoku 1) by Mukai Gensho's son Gensei on the banks of the Nakashima River behind the residence of the Nagasaki magistrate. Only the Andanmon and much reduced Daiseiden survived into the modern period, and were transferred to Kofukuji for preservation in 1959. Because the gate is inscribed with a quotation from Confucius' classic, "Great Learning" (Ch: Daxue; J: Daigaku), the gate is known as the "Great Learning Gate" today. Today, many young visitors come to worship Confucius as the "god of scholarship", and pray for scholastic success.

Gyoban (Fish Drum)

Hanging before the entrance to the temple refectory visitors will find a pair of large wooden fish-shaped drums called "hanpo", which originally served to call the temple's monks to meals. Such fish-shaped drums are common in Zen temple throughout Japan, but the pair at Kofukuji are considered the most beautiful. Years of beating have left their mark on the fish's bellies, but the drums still reverberate over a remarkably large area, audible as far as the base of the mountains beyond the temple precincts. The pairing of the larger male fish with a smaller female fish is also extremely unusual. The fish are thought to represent a legendary Chinese fish that inhabits the Yangzi River but appears only on rare occasions. The round ball held in the male fish's mouth symbolizes human desire, which should be symbolically "expelled" when the fish is beaten. The robust sculptural form of the fish is considered to be basic shape of such fish drums, and its characteristic Ming Dynasty style serves today as the trademark of Kofukuji.