Ji'an Qingxiu Yuan
Main Deities
About
Walk into Ji'an Qingxiu Yuan and for a moment you may think you've crossed to Japan — this is the most complete Japanese-style temple still standing in Taiwan, formerly the 'Shingon-shu Yoshino Mission,' dedicated to Fudo Myoo and listed as a Hualien County historic monument. Its square 'hogyo-zukuri' pyramidal roof breathes a strong Edo-period air, and within stand the wish-granting 'Hyakudo Stone' and eighty-eight stone Buddhas modeled on the Shikoku pilgrimage circuit, lined up one by one in the deep calm of a Japanese temple. It is a lovely, quiet corner of Hualien in which to slow down.
History
In 1917, the Japanese abbot Kawabata Manji founded this mission in the Yoshino immigrant village of Hualien as a base for the Koyasan branch of the Shingon sect — and a spiritual refuge for the Japanese settlers of the day. Built in the manner of the temples of Shikoku, its hogyo-zukuri roof carries an Edo grace. After the Second World War the settlers were repatriated and the mission fell into neglect; later it was renamed Qingxiu Yuan and placed under civilian care. In 1997 it was designated a Hualien County monument, and after a thorough restoration it reopened. Its eighty-eight stone Buddhas imitate the eighty-eight sacred sites of Shikoku, so that worshippers unable to cross the ocean could make the pilgrimage close to home.
Ji'an Qingxiu Yuan
Ji'an Township, Hualien County
Visitor Info
Address
No. 345-1, Zhongxing Rd, Ji'an Township, Hualien County
Region
Ji'an Township, Hualien County