Dairaku-ji Temple

Overview

Dairaku-ji is a Soto Zen temple in Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, formally known as Hokozan Dairaku-ji. Standing quietly at the eastern foot of Mount Kuwanoyama, it is an old temple said to have been founded in 1381 (the first year of the Eitoku era). It is known for holding the graves of people connected to the Meiji Restoration, and for preserving a temple bell linked to the Mori navy, making it a beloved temple that still tells the history of Hofu. Its calm grounds are a place to reflect on the region's past.

Highlights

• ●Hokozan Dairaku-ji, an old Soto Zen temple said to date from 1381
• ●A temple bell that was the time-bell of the Mori navy's Mitajiri Ofunagura (a Hofu City Tangible Cultural Property)
• ●Graves of people connected to the Meiji Restoration
• ●Calm grounds standing at the eastern foot of Mount Kuwanoyama

History

Dairaku-ji is a Soto Zen temple said to have been founded in 1381 (the first year of the Eitoku era). The temple is known for holding the graves of people connected to the Meiji Restoration. Its temple bell was originally the time-bell of the Mitajiri Ofunagura, a base of the Mori navy, and once hung in a bell tower built atop the carpenters' hut within the shipyard. After the Meiji Restoration, when the Ofunagura was abolished, the bell was moved to Dairaku-ji and is now a Tangible Cultural Property designated by Hofu City. The temple's graveyards are divided into two sites, a north cemetery and a south cemetery, on either side of the main hall.

Map

34.0466, 131.5686 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Head from central Hofu to Dairaku-ji at the foot of Mount Kuwanoyama
2. 2Visit the main hall and learn the origin of the bell, a Hofu City Tangible Cultural Property
3. 3Sense the temple's Restoration-era history, including the north and south cemeteries flanking the main hall
4. 4Stroll around the foot of Mount Kuwanoyama before moving on to your next destination

Did you know?

💡 Dairaku-ji's temple bell carries an unusual origin: it was once the time-bell of the Mitajiri Ofunagura, a base of the Mori navy, hung in a bell tower atop the carpenters' hut within the shipyard, and was moved to this temple when the Ofunagura was abolished, becoming a Tangible Cultural Property designated by Hofu City. Known also for the graves of people connected to the Meiji Restoration, it is a temple deeply tied to the history of the late-Edo and Restoration era.

Nearby spots