Hyogo Daibutsu, Nofukuji Temple
Nofukuji Temple was founded in 805 AD by Saicho, founder of the Tendai sect of Buddhism. Taira-no-Kiyomori became a Buddhist priest in this temple in 1168, when the capital was relocated from Kyoto to Fukuhara.
On the temple grounds sits Hyogo Daibutsu, one of the three largest Buddha statues in Japan. Only the pedestal remained after the donation of metal to the state during World War II, so the big Buddha seen today is a rebuilt version from 1991. It is an enormous statue, 18 meters tall including the pedestal and the lotus throne.
Nofukuji Temple is also the 23rd stop on the Shin-Saigoku Pilgrimage and the eighth of the Thirteen Buddhist Sites of Kobe. One of the Seven Lucky Gods of Hyogo, Bishamonten, is also enshrined in the main hall (a hidden Buddha).
The temple premises are also home to Japan’s first English monument, inscribed by Joseph Hico (Hikozo Hamada, known as father of the newspaper in Japan), as well as a cenotaph to Taki Zenzaburo, known for his involvement in the Kobe Incident of 1868, a skirmish with international diplomatic consequences on the cusp of the Meiji Restoration.
BASIC INFORMATION
- Address（Japanese）
- 〒6520837 兵庫県神戸市兵庫区北逆瀬川町1-39
