Sofukuji Temple

Sofukuji Temple in Nagasaki, Japan is a Buddhist temple of the Obaku Zen sect and a sister institution to Kofukuji a short walk north. It is not a shrine, and the distinction is worth holding onto in this part of the city, where a Buddhist temple, a Shinto shrine, and a Confucian shrine all sit within a few tram stops of each other.

The temple was founded in 1629 by the Chinese Buddhist monk Chaoran, also written Chonen, and it was commissioned specifically by and for the merchants from Fuzhou in Fujian Province who were living and trading in Nagasaki. That regional identity is the key to the place. Where Kofukuji drew its patrons from one part of coastal China, Sofukuji drew its own, and each community built a temple in the architectural idiom of home.

What sets Sofukuji apart from every other temple in the city is that two of its structures are designated National Treasures, the highest grade of protection in the Japanese system. The Daiyu Hoden, the Buddha Hall, was built in China and shipped to Nagasaki in pieces, then reassembled here in 1646. The Daiippomon, or First Gate, was built in China in 1644 and reassembled at the temple entrance in 1695. This is the famous vermilion two-story gate that appears in almost every photograph of the temple.

A third gate, the bright red Ryugamon or Dragon Palace Gate, dates from 1673 and was rebuilt in 1849. It is a striking and historically significant structure, and it is the one many visitors mistakenly assume carries the National Treasure designation, but the two National Treasures at Sofukuji are the Daiyu Hoden and the Daiippomon.

Sofukuji is arranged up a slope, and that layout has real consequences for who can see what. Nagasaki City's own barrier-free information states plainly that there are steps at the Sanmon entrance and a long staircase leading up to the National Treasure halls, with no wheelchair bypass. Visitors unable to manage the stairs are advised that they can still take in the exterior and the atmosphere of the temple from the ticket gate and parking area. That is a genuine limitation rather than a formality, and it is worth knowing before you buy a ticket.

Access is otherwise about as easy as Nagasaki sightseeing gets. The tram stop is literally called Sofukuji and is the terminus of tram lines 1 and 4, leaving a walk of roughly three minutes to the gate. There is also free parking for about ten cars beside the Sanmon Gate, which is unusual in central Nagasaki.

Most visitors spend 30 to 45 minutes here, or a little longer if they climb to see both National Treasure structures properly. Combined with Kofukuji and the walk along Teramachi, the temple slots neatly into a half day that ends at Meganebashi Bridge.