Sofukuji Temple

Sofukuji stands on the hillside at Kajiyamachi in Nagasaki. It was founded in 1629 by the Chinese community in the city, and its buildings are in the style of China at the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing, of which there is nothing else of the kind in Japan.

Most of the parishioners came from Fujian, and many from Fuzhou in particular, so the temple was also known as the Fuzhou temple. Sofukuji is one of the three Chinese temples of Nagasaki known together as the Fuku temples, the others being Kofukuji and Fukusaiji, from the "fuku" that appears in all three names.

The gates and the hall

From the entrance, steps lead up to the Daiippomon, the first peak gate, rebuilt in 1695 from timbers cut and jointed in China and shipped over to be put together here. Beyond it stands the Daiohoden, the main hall. Both are National Treasures. Five more of the buildings are Important Cultural Properties, and with the prefectural and city designations the temple holds more than ten.

The Mazu hall

Mazu, the goddess who guards those at sea, is worshipped across southern China, and every Chinese ship carried an image of her. While the ship lay in Nagasaki the image was brought ashore and kept in the Mazu hall of a Chinese temple, and the temples of the city generally began with the building of such a hall.

The hall standing now was put up in 1794. It was paid for with the proceeds of about six tonnes of sugar from the owners of Chinese ships. The open ground in front of it is there for the ceremony of carrying the image up from the ship, and a pair of stones for flagpoles stands before the bell tower, where the flags could be seen from the harbour below.