Beitou Puji Temple Introduction
According to the "Treasury of Famous Buddhist Sites in Taiwan" published by the Min-te Photo Studio in Taipei in 1941, the Puji Temple, along with the Linji Huguo Zen Temple, which is also a designated historical site in Taipei, serves as a missionary site for the Myoshinji faction of the Linji school. During its reconstruction in 1934, many of its devotees were employees of the Transportation Bureau of the Taiwanese Governor-General's Office, so the temple was named "Tetsujin-in" after the posthumous title of Shōichi Murakami, the head of the Transportation Division. A monument dedicated to Shōichi Murakami was also established within the temple. It was officially designated as a historical site in 1998, and the surroundings are filled with a tranquil and comfortable atmosphere. The temple features a distinct Japanese style, with its main hall built in a single-eaved hip-and-gable style that has three bays in width and three bays in depth, forming a nearly square structure, with a roof extending outward to create an entrance foyer. The raised floor inside the main hall is covered with tatami mats, showcasing the simple, tranquil, yet solemn beauty of a Japanese temple, while the main hall is constructed of high-quality cypress wood. The temple still retains Japanese worship rituals, differing from traditional Taiwanese worship practices. The bell-shaped windows next to the main entrance are particularly distinctive, and the intricate carvings of the dougong can be seen in the entrance foyer, along with a plaque of Puji Temple written by the calligrapher Yuu Nin. Notably, a statue of a stone Buddha, holding an infant in the left arm and a Zen staff in the right, is enshrined in a pavilion to the left of the temple. The general public refers to this statue as the "Child-Granting Guanyin," while Buddhist practitioners believe it represents the Japanese "Koyasu Bosatsu," an incarnation of Jizo Bodhisattva, attracting many devout believers who come to pray for offspring. The presence of both the Koyasu Bosatsu and the Guanyin of Tōmorikami has become a significant feature of the temple.
