Kobe Kanteibyo神户关帝庙

Type: Overseas Daoist Temples
Location: Japan · Hyogo Prefecture · Chuo Ward, Kobe · 3-2 Nakayamate-dori 7-chome
Coordinates: 34.6895, 135.178 Map ↗
First built: 1888 (according to records of the Chinese Association) · Its predecessor was Chorakuji, a subtemple of the Ōbaku-sect Manpuku-ji; it was relocated to its present site in 1892 by Chinese merchants including Wu Jintang, and the present building was rebuilt in 1948

Overview

The Kobe Kanteibyo is administered by the General Incorporated Association Chinese Association (Chuka Kaikan), and is dedicated primarily to Guandi Shengjun, with Guanyin Bodhisattva and Tianhou Shengmu also worshipped, alongside Fude Zhenshen and Xuantian Shangdi. Its historical origin lies in Chorakuji, a subtemple of the Ōbaku-sect Manpuku-ji; in 1892 Chinese merchants including Wu Jintang moved it to its present site on Nakayamate-dori, so the temple is in fact a site of fusion between Buddhism and Daoism, rather than a purely Daoist temple. It was burned down in the Great Kobe Air Raid of 1945 and rebuilt in 1948; it was damaged in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 and restored in 1999. The building is in a "Sino-Japanese eclectic" style, with a vermilion mountain gate and a pair of dragons playing with a pearl on the roof ridge. Every year from the thirteenth to the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month, the Yulanpen Shenghui (rites of universal salvation for the Ghost Festival) is held, one of the most important annual events for the overseas Chinese community of the Kansai region.

Highlights

Its historical origin is Chorakuji of the Ōbaku sect
Relocated by Wu Jintang and other Chinese merchants
Sino-Japanese eclectic architecture
The Yulanpen Shenghui rites of universal salvation

References