was a Buddhist temple located in

Hiraizumi is a town located in Nishiiwai District, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7,408 and a population density of in 2,616 households. The total area of the town was . It is noted for the Historic Monuments and Sit ...

in what is now southern Iwate Prefecture in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku reta ...

of Japan. The temple fell into ruins during the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

; however, the pond from its gardens has been restored to its original dimensions, and has been designated a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty in 2005. The ruins are also covered as part of the Special National Historic Site designation for neighboring

Mōtsū-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect in the town of Hiraizumi in southern Iwate Prefecture, Japan, and also refers to the historic area surrounding it containing the ruins of two older temples, and in a Jōdo (Pure Land) garden. The curre ...

. Together with other important sites in Hiraizumi, the ruins form part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Historic Monuments and Sites of Hiraizumi Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land is a grouping of five sites from late eleventh- and twelfth-century Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The serial nomination was inscribed on the UNESCO ...

''.

Overview

Kanjizaiō-in was founded by the wife of

Fujiwara no Motohira was the second ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the son of Fujiwara no Kiyohira and the father of Fujiwara no Hidehira. Fujiwara no Motohira is credited with expansion of Hiraizumi, the residence of Northern Fujiwara. In ...

, the second of the Northern Fujiwara rulers. It was located directly across from Enryū-ji and Kashō-ji, twin temples founded by her husband. As with other Buddhist temples in the Hiraizumi area, the temple shared the Pure Land theme with a large pond surrounded by gardens. The pond was fed by a stream from

. Both Mōtsū-ji and Kanjizaiō-in also had large earthen walls surrounding their compounds with majestic entrance gates. Whereas the temple structures at Mōtsū-ji were elaborate and opulent, the buildings at Kanjizaiō-in were much plainer and simpler. Kanjizaiō-in consisted of a Large Amida Hall and a Small Amida Hall in a 160 x 260 meter compound. Bridges from the entrance gate on the south to an island in the center of the pond led to the Amida Halls on the northern side of the pond. There may have been a

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

on the eastern side as well. The Large Amida Hall contained an Amida triad and its walls were painted with scenes of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

. The walls of the Small Amida Hall were decorated with poems written by Fujiwara no Norinaga much like the walls at Enryū-ji. It is possible that Motohira's wife lived in the smaller hall and worshipped in the larger one. Some scholars suppose that Kanjizaiō-in was built after Motohira's death as a memorial temple. Both Mōtsū-ji and Kanjizaiō-in were destroyed by fire in 1198 following the downfall of the Northern Fujiwara dynasty, although a smaller temple may have continued to exist on this site until 1578. The site was excavated from 1973–1976, previous to which the site was covered in rice fields. The temple was described in detail in the Kamakura period chronicle, ''

Azuma Kagami is a Japanese historical chronicle. The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...

'', and the foundation pillars of many of the building described have been located. None of the buildings of the temple have been reconstructed.

References

* For an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture, see the

Glossary of Japanese Buddhism This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual (or brand-new) reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk (*) are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galle ...

External links

Hiraizumi's Cultural Heritage

pref.iwate.jp {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanjizaio-in Buddhist temples in Iwate Prefecture Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan Places of Scenic Beauty World Heritage Sites in Japan Special Historic Sites Parks and gardens in Iwate Prefecture Hiraizumi, Iwate

Overview

See also

References

External links