is a Buddhist temple of the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

sect 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 Sit ...

in southern

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 ...

, and also refers to the historic area surrounding it containing the ruins of two older temples, and in a Jōdo ( Pure Land) garden. The current temple was built in the 18th century and bears no relation to the ancient temple structures that once stood here. In June 2011, Mōtsū-ji was listed as a

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 ...

as "

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 ...

History

Mōtsū-ji was founded in 850 by

Ennin , better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi (), was a priest of the Tendai school of Buddhism in Japan, and its third . Ennin was instrumental in expanding the Tendai Order's influence, and bringing back crucial training and re ...

(Jikaku Daishi). At the time, the area was a frontier between

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

Japan and the Emishi of 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 northern Honshū. In the mid-12th century,

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 Northern Fujiwara lord, built a temple here called Enryū-ji. There is also a possibility that Motohira's father

Fujiwara no Kiyohira was a samurai of mixed Japanese-Emishi parentage of the late Heian period (794–1185), who was the founder of the Hiraizumi or Northern Fujiwara dynasty that ruled Northern Japan from about 1100 to 1189. Biography Kiyohira was the son of Fujiw ...

built an earlier Enryū-ji on this site before he died in 1128. If so, it is supposed that this original temple was consumed by fire soon after its completion in the war of succession between Motohira and his brother Koretsune. The temple built by Motohira around 1150 would then have been a copy of his father's temple. Motohira's Enryū-ji must have been spectacular by any standards. The main hall contained a monumental statue of Yakushi Nyōrai, the Buddha of Healing, with monumental statues of the

Twelve Divine Generals In East Asian Buddhism, the Twelve Heavenly Generals or Twelve Divine Generals are the protective deities, or ''yaksha'', of Bhaisajyaguru, the buddhahood, buddha of healing. They are introduced in the ''Bhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharāja Sūtra' ...

(Jūni Shinshō), sculpted by

Unkei Unkei ( ja, 運慶; – 1223) was a Japanese sculptor of the Kei school, which flourished in the Kamakura period. He specialized in statues of the Buddha and other important Buddhist figures. Unkei's early works are fairly traditional, simi ...

with crystal eyes; an innovation at that time. The hall itself was brightly painted and decorated with precious wood, gold, silver and jewels. The main hall was surrounded by other buildings including a lecture hall, a circumambulation hall, a two-story

main gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...

, a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

and a

sutra repository ''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 literature, Indian literary traditio ...

. The temple's name placard was written by and the ornamental poem slips by Fujiwara no Norinaga. At the height of its glory Mōtsū-ji is said to have had 40 buildings and up to 500 subsidiary chapels for meditation, many of which used rare woods and precious materials in their construction, in the manner of nearby

Chūson-ji is a Buddhist temple in the town of Hiraizumi in southern Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It is the head temple of the Tendai sect in Tōhoku region of northern Honshu. The temple claims it was founded in 850 by Ennin, the third chief abbot of the se ...

. Once Enryū-ji was completed Motohira ordered an almost exact copy to be built beside it, Kashō-ji. He did not live to see it completed. His son and heir, Hidehira, accomplished that task. Kashō-ji also contained a monumental statue of Yakushi Nyōrai but the walls were decorated with paintings illustrating the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

. After the downfall of the Northern Fujiwara clan, all of the buildings were destroyed by fires, either natural or in conflicts, and the temple was completely in ruins by 1226.

Current status

The temple was rebuilt during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

; however, the current structures were not located on the original foundations and are not reconstructions of the original buildings. The current temple buildings consist of a

Hondō Main hall is the building within a Japanese Buddhist temple compound ('' garan'') which enshrines the main object of veneration.Kōjien Japanese dictionary Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single English t ...

enshrining a Yakushi Nyōrai, and a Jogyō-dō meditation hall. The pond and surrounding Pure Land garden is preserved much as it was 800 years ago. The designer of the garden is unknown, but was clearly familiar with the (an 11th-century treatise on garden making). The garden consists of a large pond with two islands, one peninsula on the southeast shore, and three on the south shore. On the north shore of the pond are the remains of the original main hall, bell tower and sutra repository. In the original garden, bridges connected this hall with the central island (which was shaped like a ) and the great south gate. The shoreline, with its beach, peninsulas and rugged mountain rocks, is thought to represent the seacoast. There are beautiful plantings of cherry trees, irises, lotus, bush clover and maples. Various festivals are held throughout the year. Mōtsū-ji is designated as both a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and a Special National Historic Site. Motsuji Temple Hiraizumi 2007-01-27

Annual events

* January 20: The Jogyodo 20th Night Festival and "Ennen no Mai" Dance * May 1–5: Spring Fujiwara Festival and Ennen no Mai Dance * June 20 - July 10: Ayame Matsuri or Iris Festival * August 16: Daimonji Matsuri or Bon Fire Festival * September 15–30: Hagi Matsuri or Japanese Bush Clover Festival * November 1–3: Autumn Fujiwara Festival and Ennen no Mai Dance

References

External links

Motsuji Temple
(English Web Site)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motsu-ji Buddhist temples in Iwate Prefecture Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan Special Places of Scenic Beauty Special Historic Sites World Heritage Sites in Japan Hiraizumi, Iwate Tendai temples 9th-century establishments in Japan 9th-century Buddhist temples Mutsu Province Religious buildings and structures completed in 850

History

Current status

Annual events

See also

References

External links