Iwate · Town
Hiraizumi
平泉町ひらいずみちょうHiraizumi-chōThe golden Pure Land capital of the Oshu Fujiwara
Hiraizumi is a small town in southern Iwate that was, in the twelfth century, the capital of the Oshu Fujiwara and one of the largest cities in Japan. Its temples and gardens – above all Chuson-ji with the gold-covered Konjikido and the Pure Land garden of Motsu-ji – were inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2011.
Overview
Hiraizumi lies on the west bank of the Kitakami River where it is joined by the Koromo River, just north of Ichinoseki. For about a century, from around 1100 to 1189, it was the seat of the Oshu Fujiwara, who controlled the north of Honshu and grew rich on gold, horses and trade. Their temples, built as an earthly image of the Pure Land of Amida Buddha after decades of war in the north, rivalled those of Kyoto.
Most of the medieval city disappeared after its fall, but Chuson-ji on its wooded hill still holds the Konjikido, a small hall entirely covered in gold leaf and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, which contains the remains of the four Fujiwara rulers. Motsu-ji preserves one of the finest Heian-period Pure Land gardens in Japan. Together with the excavated sites of Kanjizaio-in and Muryoko-in and the sacred hill of Kinkeisan, they form the World Heritage property.
Hiraizumi is also bound up with the tragic hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who died here in 1189, and with the poet Matsuo Basho, who visited in 1689 and wrote two of his most famous haiku at Takadachi and the Konjikido.
Landmarks
- 中尊寺Chūson-ji
Tendai temple complex on Kanzan hill, reached by the cedar-lined Tsukimizaka slope, with the main hall, many sub-temples and a treasure museum.
Konjikido
金色堂KonjikidōThe gold-leafed hall of 1124 with lacquer, mother-of-pearl and ivory inlay, the mausoleum of four generations of the Oshu Fujiwara; a National Treasure.
Motsu-ji and its Pure Land garden
毛越寺Mōtsū-jiA pond garden representing the Pure Land, with a pebble beach and a stone-set promontory, and an original Heian-period stream (yarimizu); a Special Place of Scenic Beauty.
Kanjizaio-in site
観自在王院跡Kanjizaiō-in atoThe restored pond and foundations of a temple built by Motohira's wife, next to Motsu-ji.
Muryoko-in site
無量光院跡Muryōkō-in atoThe excavated pond and islands of Hidehira's temple, modelled on the Byodo-in; at the equinoxes the sun sets behind Kinkeisan on the temple's axis.
Kinkeisan
金鶏山KinkeisanA small conical hill where sutras were buried, the spatial reference point of the Fujiwara city.
Takadachi Gikeido
高館義経堂Takadachi GikeidōA hall on the bluff where Yoshitsune is said to have died, overlooking the Kitakami; site of Basho's haiku on summer grasses.
Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Center
平泉文化遺産センターHiraizumi Bunka Isan SentāThe town's museum explaining the history and excavations of the Fujiwara capital.
Districts
Chuson-ji hill (Kanzan)
関山KanzanThe wooded hill north of the town centre on which the Chuson-ji complex stands.
Town centre and Motsu-ji
The area around Hiraizumi Station, with Motsu-ji, Kanjizaio-in and Muryoko-in within walking distance.
Yanagi-no-gosho
柳之御所Yanagi-no-goshoThe excavated site of the Fujiwara government compound on the Kitakami, now a historical park.
History
After the Former Nine Years' War and the Later Three Years' War, Fujiwara no Kiyohira emerged as ruler of the north and moved his base to Hiraizumi around 1100. He built Chuson-ji as a temple of peace for all who had died in the wars, friend and foe, human and animal. His son Motohira built Motsu-ji, his grandson Hidehira the Muryoko-in, a copy of the Byodo-in in Uji. Under Hidehira, Hiraizumi became a city with tens of thousands of inhabitants and a centre of Buddhist art.
Hidehira sheltered the young Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and after Hidehira's death his son Yasuhira, under pressure from Minamoto no Yoritomo, attacked Yoshitsune in 1189. Yoritomo then invaded anyway and destroyed the Fujiwara. Fires in later centuries claimed most buildings, but the Konjikido was protected by a sheltering hall. The town was rediscovered by pilgrims and poets, and twentieth-century excavations revealed the plan of the Fujiwara city.
c. 1100
Fujiwara no Kiyohira moves his seat to Hiraizumi.
1105
Kiyohira begins the large-scale construction of Chuson-ji.
1124
Completion of the Konjikido (Golden Hall) of Chuson-ji.
mid-12th century
Motohira and his wife build Motsu-ji; Hidehira later builds Muryoko-in after the model of the Byodo-in.
1189
Minamoto no Yoshitsune dies at Takadachi; Minamoto no Yoritomo destroys the Oshu Fujiwara.
1689
Matsuo Basho visits Hiraizumi on the journey recorded in Oku no Hosomichi.
1950
Scientific investigation of the Fujiwara remains in the Konjikido.
1962–1968
Full restoration of the Konjikido, followed by the construction of a concrete protective hall.
2011
Hiraizumi is inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Culture
Life in Hiraizumi revolves around its temples. Chuson-ji keeps up the Tendai rituals founded under the Fujiwara, and on its grounds stands a thatched Noh stage of 1853 at Hakusan Shrine, where performances are given on festival days. Motsu-ji preserves the Ennen no Mai, medieval longevity dances. The town's festivals recall the Fujiwara and Yoshitsune, and hidehira lacquerware – named after the third Fujiwara lord – is made in the surrounding area.
Festivals
Spring Fujiwara Festival
春の藤原まつりHaru no Fujiwara MatsuriFrom 1 to 5 May, with a procession recreating Yoshitsune's arrival in Hiraizumi and Noh at Chuson-ji.
Autumn Fujiwara Festival
秋の藤原まつりAki no Fujiwara MatsuriFrom 1 to 3 November, with a costumed procession of the four Fujiwara lords.
Hatsuka-yasai
二十日夜祭Hatsuka-yasaiOn 20 January Motsu-ji holds a New Year festival in which the Ennen no Mai dances are performed.
Motsu-ji iris festival
毛越寺あやまつりMōtsū-ji Ayame MatsuriIn early summer irises bloom by the garden pond and the Ennen no Mai is performed.
Food
Mochi cuisine
もち料理mochi ryōriThe Ichinoseki–Hiraizumi area has a festive tradition of rice cakes served with many toppings, from sesame and red bean to grated daikon and shrimp.
Hatto-jiru
はっと汁hatto-jiruA soup of thin, hand-stretched wheat dough with vegetables, typical of southern Iwate and northern Miyagi.
Maesawa beef
前沢牛Maesawa-gyūWagyu from neighbouring Oshu, served in restaurants throughout the area.
Getting around
- Ichinoseki Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen is about eight minutes by local train from Hiraizumi Station on the Tohoku Main Line; from Tokyo the journey takes roughly two and a half hours in total.
- Motsu-ji is a short walk from Hiraizumi Station; Chuson-ji is about 25 minutes on foot or a few minutes by the town's loop bus.
- Rental bicycles are practical for the flat valley floor between the sites.
- Morioka and Sendai are each about an hour away by rail, making Hiraizumi an easy stop on a journey through Tohoku.
Day trips
Boat trips between limestone cliffs east of Ichinoseki, about half an hour by car or train.
Genbikei Gorge
A short ravine of potholes and small waterfalls west of Ichinoseki, known for dango sent across the river in a basket.
Takkoku no Iwaya Bishamondo
A hall built into an overhanging cliff with a giant Buddha face carved into the rock, a few kilometres south-west of Hiraizumi.
Iwate's capital and former Nanbu castle town, about an hour north.
The pine-covered islands of Matsushima Bay, visited by Basho on the same journey, reachable via Sendai.
Other cities in the prefecture
Frequently asked questions
Why is Hiraizumi a World Heritage site?
Its temples and gardens, built in the twelfth century by the Oshu Fujiwara, are an outstanding expression of Pure Land Buddhism and its idea of an earthly paradise. The property was inscribed in 2011.
What is the Konjikido?
A small hall at Chuson-ji completed in 1124, covered inside and out in gold leaf and decorated with mother-of-pearl; it contains the remains of the four Fujiwara lords. It now stands inside a protective building.
How much time is needed for Hiraizumi?
Chuson-ji and Motsu-ji can be seen in a full day; adding the Muryoko-in site, Takadachi and the museum makes an unhurried day or a short overnight stay.
How do you get to Hiraizumi from Tokyo?
Take the Tohoku Shinkansen to Ichinoseki, then a local train one stop north to Hiraizumi.
What is the connection between Hiraizumi and Basho?
Matsuo Basho visited in 1689 and wrote 'Natsukusa ya, tsuwamonodomo ga yume no ato' (summer grasses, all that remains of warriors' dreams) at Takadachi, and a haiku on the Konjikido.
Related
Sources
- 1.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
- 2.平泉町ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 平泉町
- 3.Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land (opens in a new tab) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- 4.関山 中尊寺 (opens in a new tab) — 中尊寺