kofukuji

Updated: May 5, 2025

These deities were now supplemented, not supplanted. When spoken of together they became ji-sha. *Thus, Kofukuji, built by Kamatari and Fuhito was called O-Nakatomi no uji-tera; Onjo-ji, erected by Otomo Suguri, was known as Otomo no uji-tera, and so forth.

F. (Frank) Brinkley - A History of the Japanese People : From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era

This was done by the priests of Kofukuji, in Yamashiro. In the year 1660 the same expedient was resorted to in Yedo, and the custom of getting up wrestling-matches for the benefit of temple funds holds good to this day. The following graphic description of a Japanese wrestling-match is translated from the "Yedo Hanjôki":

Baron Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Redesdale - Tales of Old Japan

Besides this, as a further charm to exorcise the portent, the dance called Sambasô, which is still performed as a prelude to theatrical exhibitions by an actor dressed up as a venerable old man, emblematic of long life and felicity, was danced on a plot of turf in front of the Temple Kofukuji. By these means the smoke was dispelled, and the drama was originated.

Baron Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Redesdale - Tales of Old Japan