Shofukuji

Shofukuji is marked by a massive wooden Sanmon gate that stands tall against the modern skyline of Hakata. Founded in eleven ninety-five, this is the first Zen temple established in Japan. The monk Eisai returned from China to build it, bringing both tea seeds and the Rinzai school of Buddhism to the country. A heavy iron bell hangs inside the temple grounds, cast during the Kamakura period, and it still marks the hours for the monks living in the walled enclosure today.