Ukondayu Kazufusa


Morimoto Ukondayu Kazufusa was a 17th-century Japanese traveler, merchant and pilgrim, who made a journey to Cambodia, and in January 1632 visited the temple of Angkor Wat at Angkor. At that time, the temple was thought by the Japanese visitors as the famed Jetavana garden of the Buddha, located in the kingdom of Magadha. Ukondayu Kazufusa was a member of the Morimoto family.
In Angkor, there were altogether 14 inscriptions left by Japanese pilgrims between 1612 and 1632 CE. Among these inscriptions, the best-known inscription was Kazufusa's, telling that he celebrated the Khmer New Year in Angkor in 1632. The merchant-pilgrims belonged to the Japanese cities of Higo, Hizen, Hirado and Nagasaki, but some came also from Sakai and Ōsaka.