Kofuku-ji

Temple · Nara

Yamashina-dera · Umayasaka-dera

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In short

It began in 669 as Yamashina-dera, built by Fujiwara no Kamatari’s wife Kagami no Okimi, and after two moves was installed in the new capital by Fujiwara no Fuhito in 710 under the name Kofuku-ji.

The central golden hall of Kofuku-ji in Nara. — Cun Cun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick facts

Address: 48 Noboriojicho, Nara

About this place

Kofuku-ji is in Nara. Its origin is dated to 669, when Kamatari’s wife Kagami no Okimi built Yamashina-dera at Yamashina Suehara and enshrined Kamatari’s Shaka triad there. In 672 it moved to Umayasaka and became Umayasaka-dera, and in 710 Fujiwara no Fuhito moved it into the new capital, to the third ward of the seventh block of the eastern half, and named it Kofuku-ji. The temple’s history states no benefit that may be prayed for.

Origin and history

In 669, Kamatari’s wife Kagami no Okimi built Yamashina-dera at Yamashina Suehara and enshrined Kamatari’s Shaka triad there.

In 672 the temple moved to Umayasaka and became Umayasaka-dera.

In 710 Fujiwara no Fuhito moved Umayasaka-dera into the new capital, to the third ward of the seventh block of the eastern half, and named it Kofuku-ji.

What it is locally associated with

Origin
669: Kagami no Okimi’s Yamashina-dera
Kamatari’s wife Kagami no Okimi built Yamashina-dera at Yamashina Suehara and enshrined Kamatari’s Shaka triad there.
documented history
Origin
710: Fuhito moves it into the capital
Fujiwara no Fuhito moved Umayasaka-dera into the new capital and named it Kofuku-ji.
documented history
What people do here
Three names
Yamashina-dera, Umayasaka-dera, Kofuku-ji — the name changed at each move.
documented history

This temple moved twice, and changed its name each time. Yamashina-dera, built at Yamashina Suehara, became Umayasaka-dera at Umayasaka, and became Kofuku-ji in the new capital. The name it carries now is the third one. Yakushi-ji, also on this list, was likewise moved into a new capital.

The first builder was Kamatari’s wife, Kagami no Okimi, and what she enshrined there was Kamatari’s Shaka triad. That a wife raised a hall to house her husband’s image is as far as the record goes; nothing beyond it is stated.

The man who moved it into the capital and gave it this name was Fujiwara no Fuhito. Kasuga Taisha, also in Nara, is the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara — so the clan’s shrine and the clan’s temple both appear on this list.

The temple’s own history is written as a chronology, and nowhere in it is any benefit named. This page therefore carries no tag for what may be prayed for.

Claims and evidence levels 2

Kofuku-ji originated in 669 as Yamashina-dera, built by Kamatari’s wife Kagami no Okimi to house Kamatari’s Shaka triad. documented history
It moved to Umayasaka in 672 as Umayasaka-dera, and in 710 Fujiwara no Fuhito moved it into the new capital and named it Kofuku-ji. documented history

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