was a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

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 is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

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 (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

of Japan. The temple fell into ruins during the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

; however, the pond from its gardens has been restored to its original dimensions, and has been designated a nationally designated

Place of Scenic Beauty is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...

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, Iwate, 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 B ...

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

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

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

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, Iwate, Hiraizumi, the residence of Northern ...

, the second 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.

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 Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...

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 Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Ro ...

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 a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, 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 some ...

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

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. 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 ...

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

References

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