A Zanadu full of Peace-Puchi Temple

        Puchi Temple was originally built in 1905 in name of Guan In Hall (觀音堂) nearby Betou Creek. Later, due to the construction of Beitou Park, it was moved and reconstructed in 1915 and finished in Jan 1916 at its current venue.The building itself was rough and primitive, since it took only two months for completing it. Gengo HIRATA, the founder of Tenguan (the first hot spring hotel in Taiwan), together with the leading sponsor Shoichi MURAKAMI who was a chief officer of the railway department in government, conducted the construction. Staffs of the railway department and enthusiastic local people also gave donations to it. So the original name of Puchi Temple was Tieh Zen Yuan, a name after the title of Mr. MURAKAMI who had passed away on January 7, 1916, when the temple was on near completion.

    Tieh Zen Yuan was renovated in 1934 to have the noble and elegant appearance which you can see now. As Japanese colonial era had come to an end, it was renamed as Puchi Temple by our government in 1949, with its name written by Yu Yoren, the prestigious celebrity in his remarkable cursive script. You can appreciate the perfect flowing Chinese calligraphy right at its entrance.

    It was a well preserved Japanese style temple with its design deriving from Nara and Hei-an period of Japan. Woods used were of high-quality cypress grown in Taiwan. Windows were in a beautiful shape of big bells, while the Arch Brackets and Rainbow Beams were delicately carved around the porch. The front part of eave was decorated with two turtles and fish tails which symbolized longevity and anti-evil. Same as many other buildings, Puchi Temple has survived from several times of natural disasters, typhoon and earthquake, yet it’s been repaired properly to stay with its primary sense of grace and dignity since it was considered to be an architectural masterpiece of Shingon sect, a branch of Japanese Buddhism.

    Even if the temple itself is not particularly grand, with all these unique characteristics involving in its construction, Puchi Temple was designated as a historical site by Taipei city government in 1998. Customarily, there are ceremonies held periodically every year by locals to express their respect and gratitude to Tang Shou Kuan Yin, the mercy goddess responsible for protecting hot spring(In Japanese, “Tang” means hot spring, “Shou” is protection.). The welfare of the community is ensured because of her great jobs. In return, Puchi Temple benefits the society by offering practical help and relief to those who in need or in difficulty sometimes.

   At the left-hand side of the main building, there are two significant legacies worth mentioning. The first one is the statue of baby-carrying Kuan Yin in the pavilion. It is said that people could get offspring and blessing of good health for their kids by praying to the mercy goddess. The other one is a stone monument just beside the pavilion. The inscription on the plate is dedicated to the commemoration of Shoichi MURAKAMI who has ever made a great contribution to railway establishment in Taiwan and pr

   All in all, Puchi Temple has been playing a role as an important religious center for residents here for a long time. Just a 25-minute walk from the Xinbeitou MRT station, you can take in a Xanadu full of tranquil and peaceful charm.