Beitou Puji Temple

Beitou Puji Temple

Beitou Puji Temple is a rare Japanese Shingon Buddhist temple in Taiwan, originally built in 1905 during the Japanese colonial period. According to the "Taiwan Buddhist Historical Sites and Treasures," it, along with the Linji Huguo Chan Temple—also a designated municipal historical site in Taipei—served as preaching bases for the Myōshin-ji branch of the Rinzai school in Taipei. At that time, since the temple's worshippers were mainly employees of the Taiwan Governor-General’s Office Transportation Bureau Railway Department, it was named "Tetsuzen-in" (Iron True Temple) after the posthumous title "Tetsuzen" of Mr. Murakami Shōichi, the head of the railway department's transport section, and a "Monument to the Late Murakami Shōichi" was erected within the temple grounds.

The overall design of Beitou Puji Temple adopts a Japanese style, blending three traditional Japanese architectural styles: Wayō (Japanese style), Daibutsuyō (Great Buddha style), and Zen’yō (Zen style). The main hall features a single-eave irimoya roof with a width of three bays. The interior floor is covered with tatami mats, facilitating kneeling prayer, and both the main hall and the abbot’s residence exude a simple, elegant, serene, and dignified monastic beauty. The entire main hall is constructed from premium hinoki cypress wood, which is very well-preserved, and the carvings on the bracket arms and rainbow beams are exquisitely crafted, featuring distinctive characteristics that are well worth close appreciation by visitors.

Beitou Puji Temple

Must-visit reason: One of Taipei’s most important Rinzai temples