is a conical hill in the town of

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 Site ...

in southwestern

Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The mountain is 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 Wo ...

''.

Overview

Mount Kinkei is a

sacred mountain Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many rel ...

that has influenced the spatial layout of the temple complex at Hiraizumi. It lies approximately halfway between the temples of Chuson-ji and

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 ...

. According to the legend, the hill was built in a single night by

Fujiwara no Hidehira was the third ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the grandson of Fujiwara no Kiyohira. During the Genpei War, he controlled his territory independently of the central government; however, he was the official imperial governo ...

of the

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.

to the west of

Muryōkō-in is former temple in Hiraizumi in what is now southern Iwate Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. The site is designated as both a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and a Special National Historic Site. Overview Muryōkō-in was built by Fuji ...

temple, which was intended to be a copy of the

Byōdō-in is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, built in the late Heian period. It is jointly a temple of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) and Tendai-shū sects. History This temple was originally built in 998 in the Hei ...

temple in

Uji is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its source in Lake Biwa. ...

(near

Kyoto Kyoto (; 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 metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

). The name of the hill is said to be derived from a golden cockerel was buried on the top. In 1930, illegal excavations to find the legendary golden cockerel uncovered ceramic and earthenware and copper

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

containers, indicating that the summit of the hill was used as a sutra mound. The sutra containers are now at the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage ( :ja:国立文化財機構), is considered the oldest national museum in Japan, ...

. Subsequent excavations found the remains of a

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

identified as belonging to Zaō Gongen; associated with the cult of Miroku. On 22 February 2005, Mount Kinkei was declared a national historic site.Agency for Cultural Affairs - Cultural Heritage Online

Gallery

file:Kinkeizan4.JPG, Senju-do chapel and entrance to hiking path file:Senjudou.JPG, Senju-do chapel file:Kinkeizan3.JPG, Entrance to climbing path file:Yoshitsune's wife &child,gravestone 3.JPG, Inside Senju-do chapel file:Yoshitsune's wife &child,gravestone 2.JPG, Yoshitsune's wife &child gravestones

References

External links

{{commons category
Hiraizumi's Cultural Heritage

Mountains of Iwate Prefecture World Heritage Sites in Japan Historic Sites of Japan Hiraizumi, Iwate Mountains under 1000 metres

Overview

Gallery

See also

References

External links