Fukuishizan Seiganji Temple (Fukuishi Kannon)

Japanese name： 福石山清岩寺（福石観音）

☆ Favorites 0

Main Image Five Hundred Rakan Stone Images (about 142 survive) Category Other

Impression Tags

DepthMysteryStillness

Description

Behind Fukuishi Kannon in Sasebo is Rakan Cave, a huge crescent-shaped sandstone hollow approximately 60 meters wide, four meters high and five meters deep. Stone images of the Five Hundred Rakan, each with distinct expressions and postures, are arranged in the cave. Tradition says Kukai first enshrined them in the early ninth century, and Hirado lord Matsura Kiyoshi restored the site in 1788. Around 142 figures survive after centuries of losses and postwar dispersal. The combination of evergreen forest, rocky hollow and Buddhist carvings forms the scenic Fukuishiyama site within the Hirado Eight Views, nationally designated as a Place of Scenic Beauty in 2015. Separate from the main hall's Eleven-faced Kannon, the stone Rakan are a striking example of Buddhist sculpture within a natural rock setting.

Basic Information

Spot ID 10233

Temple / Site Fukuishizan Seiganji Temple (Fukuishi Kannon)

Visiting Area Rakan Cave (Ryujin Cave, behind the temple)

Visiting Status Outdoor worship in a rock cave is possible (about 10 minutes' walk uphill from the main hall; confirm cave-access restrictions and weather conditions beforehand)

Address 長崎県佐世保市若葉町（福石観音清岩寺裏山・龍神洞穴）

Open in Google Maps View Related Website

Visit posts for this spot

No visit posts yet.

Share your visit

Please log in to share your visit.

Back