Tofuku-ji (Enichisan Tofuku-ji)
778 15cho-me, Honmachi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
phone : 075-561-0087
Official site
Tofuku-ji is located in the southeast of Kyoto and is the head temple of the Tofuku-ji school of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism.
Tofuku-ji is one of the five great Zen temples of Kyoto, so-called Kyoto Gozan. The temple's name is an association of the two great temples in Nara, Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji.
Tofuku-ji was built over a period of 19 years, starting in 1236, on the instructions of statesman Kujo Michiie.
Most of the original buildings were burned in 1319, 1334, and 1336, but were rebuilt in the 14th to 15th century according to the original plans. The Sanmon, a National Treaure, is the oldest Zen-style gate in Japan. The Zendo (meditation hall), Tosu (lavatory) and Yokushitsu (bathing room) are also existent from the Muromachi period. The Hondo (main hall) and the Hojo (head priest's quarters) are recent reconstructions because of a fire in 1881.
The Hojo and the northen garden (checkerboard-patterned garden)
The four gardens around the building of the Hojo are the Kare-sansui style and incorporate the abstract construction of the morden arts into the simplicity of Zen garden in the Kamakura period. They were recently laid out in 1939.
In the grounds on the temple, a stream called Sengyokukan flows through a narrow vavine spanned by three bridges. The Tsuten-kyo Bridge is the most famous for its beautiful scenery in autumn when the leaves of the trees turn red.
Index Page
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Open
9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m.
(8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Nov.)
Admission fee
Tsuten-kyo Bridge :
Adult 400yen / Age 7-15 300yen
Hojo Garden :
Adult 400yen / Age 7-15 300yen
(Free in the precincts)
Parking
Free parking lot : 20cars
Access
JR and Keihan Railway : 10 min. walk from Tokukuji station
Kyoto City Bus : 10 min. walk from Tofukuji Stop
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The southern garden in front of the Hojo
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