Kofuku-ji Temple

Information

Kofuku-ji Temple was originally founded in Kyoto in 669 and transferred here in 710. The temple was prosperous as the main temple for the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocratic family in the Heian Period (794 - 1185). The temple once dominated Yamato Province (today's Nara Prefecture) and even had a unit of armed priest. The temple's influence was as powerful as Enryaku-ji Temple in Mt. Hiei-zan at that time.
Although the temple complex had 175 buildings at the height of its prosperity, most of them were destroyed by Taira-no-Shigehira and Tomomori during the Siege of Nara in 1181. They are both sons of Taira-no-Kiyomori who rose to the top of Japanese politics after the Fujiwara clan. The buildings were once reconstructed in the Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333), but they were reduced to ashes as the temple lost its power. The temple's principal buildings still existing today are the five-storied pagoda dating from 1426, the Tokon-do Hall (Eastern Main Hall) from 1415 and the three-storied pagoda from 1210. These buildings are all designated as national treasures.
The Kokuho-kan (National Treasure Hall) contains a variety of statues and art objects salvaged from the temple's previous structures. A descriptive leaflet is provided in English.

Opening Hours

• Open 24 hours
• Kokuho-kan Treasure Hall: 9:00 - 17:00 *admission until 16:45
• Tokon-do Hall: 9:00 - 17:00 *admission until 16:45

Closed

• No closing days

Price / Entrance Fee

• Admission Free
• Kokuho-kan Treasure Hall: 600 yen (General, Adult); 500 yen (Student); 200 yen (Child)
• Tokon-do Hall: 300 yen (General, Adult); 200 yen (Student); 100 yen (Child)

Access / Public Transport

• 5 minutes walk from Kintestu-Nara Station on the Kintetsu Nara Line

Related Links

• English Kohfukuji

Address / Location

• 48, Noboriojicho, Nara-shi, Nara, 630-8213

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