Saiho-ji Temple Fumeikaku

[Saihoji Temple]
Originally, this Zen temple stood in Tanaka-machi, next to the Jizo Hall.
At the current site there was once a Zen temple called Myohoji. It was destroyed by fire in 1602, and the following year it moved here, to the former Myohoji site, and converted to the Jodo sect.
Within the grounds, buildings such as the main hall, bell tower, priests’ quarters, Hokkai Jizo Hall, and the temple gate stand in a row.
At the front of the grounds is a magnificent stone wall that at first glance brings a castle to mind, giving the temple an impressive presence.
With an irimoya-style roof, single story, hirairi layout, and hongawara tile roofing, it has an open front and the forward part of the sides, and a simple structure in which thick sill beams are placed on the side pillars. It is a valuable building that represents a typical form of Buddhist hall architecture in this region from the mid-Edo period.
The altar (shumidan) is in Zen style.

[Fumeikaku Hall]
Fumeikaku Hall, located on the hill beside Saihoji’s main hall, was built in 1758.
It enshrines the temple’s principal image from when Myohoji stood here: a wooden standing Eleven-Headed Kannon statue (Important Cultural Property of Hiroshima Prefecture).
It features a three-bay square plan, a ho-gyo-style roof, and a double-layered roof with hongawara tiles, built in the same architectural style as Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto.
Although it is relatively new in terms of its construction date, it has a distinctive roof form and excellent detailing.
Visible from anywhere in town, it is an important building that forms the centerpiece of Takehara’s townscape.
Climb up to Fumeikaku for a panoramic view of Takehara—an essential spot that people say everyone who visits Takehara makes sure to go up to.

car

3 min by car from Takehara Station (JR Kure Line)
16 min by car from Kawachi IC (Sanyo Expressway)
22 min by car from Hiroshima Airport

walking

14 min on foot from Takehara Station (JR Kure Line)
5 min on foot from Michi-no-Eki Takehara

Train

130 minutes by train from JR Hiroshima Station to JR Takehara Station

bus

80 min from JR Hiroshima Station by express bus “Kaguya-hime-go,” then a 7-min walk from the “Shinko-bashi” bus stop