Tochoji temple

Home to the largest seated wooden Buddha in Japan, Tochoji Temple was

founded in 806 by Kobo-daishi Kukai, making it the oldest Shingon sect

temple in the country. Also known as “Tocho-mitsuji Temple,” it is said that

Kobo-daishi founded it upon his return to Hakata after his Buddhist training

in Tang China. He built the temple to pray for the eastward dissemination

and perpetuation of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.

Completed in 1993, the Fukuoka Daibutsu (Great Buddha of Fukuoka) stands

10.8 meters tall and is the largest seated wooden Buddha in Japan. On the

28th of each month, the doors of the Rokkakudo temple on the premises are

opened, allowing visitors to view its six Buddhist statues. The main hall

houses a wooden statue of the Thousand-armed Kannon (Avalokiteshvara),

which is designated as an Important Cultural Property.