Place of worship
Shofukuji
6-1 Gokushomachi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 812-0037
Twelfth-century Zen temple compound built from a monk's smuggled Chinese tea seeds and scriptures.
This guide to Shofukuji in Fukuoka starts at its outer wall, Hakata-bei, built from broken roof tiles and stone salvaged from a city burned and rebuilt many times over. It follows the monk Eisai's repeated attempts to study in Song-dynasty China, from a failed first crossing in 1168 to the voyage in 1187 that finally got him accepted by a Chan master, and what he carried home with him in 1191. Look for the gate ahead, said to carry an inscription written by Emperor Go-Toba himself.
Audio guides are written and narrated by AI.