Sep 16, 2014 - 1 min read

Honzui-ji Temple East Annex, Fukui

Stately temple sits next to Fukui's Big Buddha Statue

By Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

Beautiful gold carving of a flying Goddess of Mercy

Stone signage of Honzui-ji Temple, and green trees on its grounds

Close-up look at the main temple building

Looking up at the main building and its altar

Looking at the main temple building through green trees and the belfry

Stone monument commemorating Meiji Emperor's visit to this temple

Main temple building viewed from an angle

Inside the main temple building. These days, western chairs are in place for elderly congregations (younger people also prefer chairs to sitting on the tatami!)

Pretty flowers in bloom on the grounds of Honzui-ji Temple

Honzui-ji Temple is located just next to Koshoji Temple, where Fukui's Big Buddha Statue stands. I thought both of them were the same temple, but in fact there is no connection between the two. Honzui-ji is the East Annex of the Honganji Temple East Annex located in Yoshizaki. Huh? OK, now I'm totally confused, because both of them call themselves as 'Higashi Gobo' or 'Higashi Betsuin', the same name in Japanese! To answer a riddle I checked further, and found out this Honzui-ji is the 'East Annex' of the 'East Annex of Honganji Temple', and they are all connected to the 'East Honganji Temple' in Kyoto! Whew! Anyway, as I visited the temple next door to see Fukui's Big Buddha, I paid a visit to this stately looking temple, too, because the main building looked so gorgeous...how could I resist!