Nov. 2010 Japan Trip - Post #8: Chuson-ji Temple

After taking a brief stop for lunch, Tak, Henry, Mary and I got back into Tak's car for the remainder of our drive further north into the Tohoku towards our destination near the town of Hiraizumi.  Our end target was the Chuson-ji Temple, a famous 12th century facility built by the Fujiwara family who ruled the area at the time.  The walk up to the Temple grounds shows that we were visiting at a perfect time as the maple trees were showing off their true beauty.

The grounds of this place are quite extensive, and include a large Main Hall (Hondo), a Museum (Sankozo) which unfortunately did not allow any photography, and the highlight of the entire site, a Golden Hall (Konjikido).  The Golden Hall is considered a National Treasure in Japan, and is a small building originally completed in 1124.  It is incredibly ornate, and is completely covered in gold leaf.  Inside of it lies the remains of four generations of Fujiwara lords.  The building is considered so fragile and special that it is actually housed within a modern, air conditioned building to keep it safe and secure from the elements.  Here is what it looks like up close.

The grounds of this place are quite special.  They are very quiet, and are surrounded by huge, towering redwood trees.  Interspersed amongst these redwoods are fantastic maples of varying colors.

There are various other smaller buildings which comprise the rest of the grounds.  The Golden Hall is the only original surviving building from the Fujiwara era.

This is an incredibly peaceful place.  This is quite fitting considering the original Fujiwara lords were involved in two incredibly bitter wars during the later half of the 11th century.  These wars claimed the lives of the first Fujiwara lords father, wife and children.  This resulted in this lord whose name was Kiyohira, dedicating the rest of his life to peace.  I would like to add that I just found out that the Hiraizumi area has recently (late June) been given a special UNESCO World Heritage site designation.  This is a huge accomplishment for the area, as well as the Chuson-ji Temple.  It is also an indication of it's significance in Japanese history.

Thank you very much Tak and Henry for taking Mary and me to this special place.  I recommend a visit to Chuson-ji.  Come to seek peace, and you shall find it.