is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Tateyama

Tateyama, Chiba

is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of September 2010, the city had an estimated population of 49,315 and the population density of 447 persons per km². The total area was 110.21 km²...

 in Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, and is a temple of the Chizen Sect

Shingon-shū Chizan-ha

or Chizan is a Japanese grouping of Shingon Buddhism. Among the other groupings of Shingon Buddhism is Buzan-ha. It is headquartered in Chishaku-in Temple in Kyoto. Naritasan Shinshōji Temple in Narita is also an important temple and has been founded in 940. Chizan-ha belongs to Tantric Buddhism....

 of Shingon Buddhism

Shingon Buddhism

is one of the mainstream major schools of Japanese Buddhism and one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhist lineages that started in the 3rd to 4th century CE that originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra...

.
According to tradition, the temple was founded by Gyōki

Gyoki

was a Japanese Buddhist priest of the Nara period, born in Ōtori county, Kawachi Province , to family of Korean Baekje descent. Gyōki became a monk at Asuka-dera temple in Nara at the age of 15, and studied under master Dōshō as one of his first pupils. Gyōki studied Yogacara , a core doctrine of...

 (668 - 749) in 717 early in the Nara period

Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

. It was later revived by a visit by the Tendai

Tendai

is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...

 Buddhist priest Ennin

Ennin

Ennin , who is better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi , was a priest of the Tendai school.- Birth and origin :...

 (794 - 864) early in the Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

. The date at which the temple returned to the Shingon sect is unknown. The temple received a juinjō (朱印状) seal of certification from the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 during the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

.

Kannon-dō

The temple is well known for its hall dedicated to the Goddess Kannon, which is situated on a sheer cliff

Cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...

 of the boat-shaped Mount Funakata. For this reason the Kannon-dō is also known as the Cliff Kannon-dō . In the rear of the hall is a 1.5 meter tall statue of the Goddess Kannon. The Kannon-dō is designated as a Tangible Cultural Property by Tateyama City.

Transportation

Daifuku-ji is located in the Funakata District of Tateyama. It is accessible by foot from the Nakofunakata Station, JR East

East Japan Railway Company

is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....

 Uchibō Line.

Sources

• 大福寺（崖の観音)