Kikuchi Gozan: Saifukuji Temple 菊池五山：西福寺

Official explanation

Saifukuji Temple on the western side of the former castle town of Waifu was one of the Kikuchi Gozan (Five Temples): Zen temples that during the medieval period enjoyed the protection of the Kikuchi clan in exchange for performing various administrative, supervisory, and religious duties. Under the Gozan system, one temple guarded each of the four key points on the compass, with a central temple completing the quintet. Saifukuji was tasked with overseeing the west.

The Kikuchi Gozan were designated by Kikuchi Takemitsu (1319–1373), a reformer and successful strategist under whom the clan reached the height of its power. When he selected the Gozan, Takemitsu took after a tradition that began in China during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) and was brought to Japan by the Kamakura shogunate (1185–1333). The purpose of the Kamakura Gozan system was both to promote Zen, the school of Buddhism favored by the Kamakura shoguns, and to incorporate Zen temples into the government bureaucracy, thereby strengthening the shogunate’s control over the country and its people. The twin objectives of religious virtue and administrative benefits also motivated Kikuchi Takemitsu’s introduction of the Gozan system.

Read the full explanation

The small cemetery behind the temple’s main hall contains several tombstones and memorials thought to date back to the medieval period. Among these is a monument dedicated to Akahoshi Aritaka (d. 1333), a Kikuchi clan member who fought against the forces of Kublai Khan when the Mongol emperor attempted to invade Japan in 1274 and 1281.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.