---
node: spot_nara_kofuku_ji
type: spot
slug: kofuku_ji
destination: dest_nara
title: "Kōfuku-ji"
lead: "Kōfuku-ji was the temple of the Fujiwara, the family that ran the Japanese court for four centuries, and its five-storey pagoda is the second tallest in the country. Its treasure hall holds the finest eighth-century sculpture in Japan."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_nara_kofuku_ji.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:181029_Ch%C5%AB-kond%C5%8D_of_K%C5%8Dfuku-ji.jpg"
image_author: "名古屋太郎"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Overview

At its height the temple held a private army and could dictate to the capital; the Meiji government's separation of Buddhism and Shinto in 1868 stripped it to almost nothing, and the pagoda was nearly sold for scrap. The Central Golden Hall was rebuilt in 2018 to its eighth-century form after two centuries as an empty platform. The treasure hall's Ashura statue, a three-faced, six-armed guardian with a boy's face, is the single most reproduced sculpture in Japanese art.

## Highlights

The treasure hall is a plain modern building and is the reason to come; the Ashura alone repays the ticket. The pagoda is closed for a full dismantling and re-roofing that runs to the end of the decade, so expect scaffolding. Nara Park begins directly below, so this is the natural first stop from Kintetsu Nara station.