Original temple The first temple built in Nagasaki was
Kofukuji, built in 1623 by traders from the northern provinces of China, such as
Jiangsu and
Zhejiang. Fukusai-ji, the second temple, was founded in 1628 by members of the
Nagasaki Chinese community, predominantly merchants from Southern Fujian and their families. The temple was built partially in response to the implementation of the anti-Christian motivated
tearuke system that required citizens registered to prove their affiliation with a Buddhist temple. Temples would issue certificates that members were not Christian and, because of the long history of Christianity in Nagasaki specifically, the system was first implemented in Kyushu and Kyoto in 1638. The temple was built in part by the desire of the Chinese community to confirm that they were not Christian while maintaining a separate place of worship. The nearby
Sōfuku-ji was constructed a few years later by the Northern Fujian community in 1632. The monk
Mu'an (,1611-1684), the disciple of
Ingen, became the abbot of Fukusai-ji in 1655 and remained in Nagasaki until 1660. In honor of the victims of the atomic bomb, a bell is rung at 11:02 am each day. == References ==