Eiheiji Temple
永平寺 · Fukui Prefecture · Eiheiji Town
Eiheiji Town, Yoshida District, Fukui Prefecture, in mountains about 15 kilometres east of Fukui City; one of the two head temples of the Soto school, still an active training monastery.
Know before you go
- Red lines: keep silence in this training monastery
- do not enter monks' halls, kitchens or other practice areas, and do not disturb unsui practice. Taboos: no photography where forbidden inside halls, do not touch Buddhas or ritual implements, and do not wear slippers or shorts while chatting loudly. Good manners: remove shoes on entering halls, follow the indicated route, and silence phones. Common mistakes for outsiders: (1) treating Eiheiji as an ordinary attraction, lecturing loudly or chasing trainee monks to photograph them
- (2) demanding to join the morning service or zazen without a reservation.
This article is Not yet verified. Please check official announcements for prices, opening hours and dates.
Stories & people
Stories & people
History
Dogen and Eiheiji
In the thirteenth century, Zen master Dogen established the predecessor of Eiheiji in Echizen. He treated seated meditation and everyday work as parts of religious practice. Rebuilt over time, the temple remains a training monastery for Soto Zen monks.
Culture
Culture & customs
Background
founded in 1244 by Dogen Zenji, first called Daibutsu-ji and renamed Eiheiji the next year; Dogen returned from studying Zen in Song China, wrote the Shobogenzo, and centred practice on zazen; the oldest surviving building, the Sanmon Gate, was rebuilt in 1749, and about 70 buildings are linked by covered corridors, where over 100 unsui (trainee monks) practise daily.
Local customs
- (1) Tour the seven halls, including Sanmon Gate (山門), Butsuden (仏殿) and Hatto (法堂)
- (2) see Dogen's relics at Joyoden (承陽殿)
- (3) hear the visitor orientation at Kichijokaku (吉祥閣)
- (4) attend the morning service, Choka (朝課, reservation required), and hear unsui chanting
- (5) quietly view the cedar-lined approach (杉並木) and Karamon Gate (唐門) from outside.
Etiquette & taboos
Etiquette & taboos
Don’t DON'T
- Red lines: keep silence in this training monastery
- do not enter monks' halls, kitchens or other practice areas, and do not disturb unsui practice. Taboos: no photography where forbidden inside halls, do not touch Buddhas or ritual implements, and do not wear slippers or shorts while chatting loudly. Good manners: remove shoes on entering halls, follow the indicated route, and silence phones. Common mistakes for outsiders: (1) treating Eiheiji as an ordinary attraction, lecturing loudly or chasing trainee monks to photograph them
- (2) demanding to join the morning service or zazen without a reservation.
Locals appreciate DO
Please respect local residents, open areas, and on-site rules.
Plan your visit
Practical info
| Getting there | Intercity: about 30 minutes by direct bus from JR Fukui Station; about 10 minutes by car from the Eiheiji Sando interchange on the Chubu-Jukan Expressway. Local: on foot. Tickets and payment: buses take IC cards or cash; temple admission and morning-service reservation rules are as officially published. The admission scale is several hundred yen, as officially published. |
|---|
Travel tips
- Allow 1–1.5 hours
- snow is heavy in winter, though corridors shelter visitors — still wear non-slip shoes. Zazen and temple-lodging experiences require advance reservation under monastery rules, as officially published.
Sources & verification notes
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