Tōfuku-ji temple was regarded as a remarkable replica of the Chinese public monasteries in Zhejiang Province, which Japanese monks frequently visited in the thirteenth century.

The temple was greatly reduced in size from 70 buildings to 25 during the Meiji era after the Shinbutsu bunri decree.

In 1881, a fire burned down many major buildings such as the Main Hall, the Hōjo, the Hattō and the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.

The complex includes Japan's oldest communal toilet, which was built in the first half of the muromachi period.

[6] A 1238 portrait painting of Wuzhun Shifan along with an inscription by an anonymous author was brought to the temple by Enni in the 1240s and remains there today.

As mentioned in the "History" section of this article, Tōfuku-ji temple was severely damaged and partly destroyed by fires during the second and third decades of the 14th century.

The early 14th century journey was never completed though as the ship with its 200 tons of cargo was caught in a storm and sank close to Korean shores.

Miraculously her passengers, some (or many) of them Japanese Buddhist monks, as recorded by the Korean annals Goryeosa, drifted ashore sound and safe.

We can also find records of this unfavorable but overall lucky incident in the personal notes of zen monk-poet Daichi Zenji(大智禅師) who happened to be one of the repatriated passengers.