| Mōtsū-ji | |
|---|---|
毛越寺 | |
 The Pure Land garden of Mōtsū-ji.The rocks are arranged to represent the rocky coast of Iwate. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhist |
| Deity | Yakushi Nyōrai |
| Rite | Tendai |
| Status | functional |
| Location | |
| Location | 58 Osawa, Hiraizumi-chō, Nishiiwai-gun, Iwate-ken |
| Country | Japan |
  Shown within Iwate Prefecture Show map of Iwate Prefecture Mōtsū-ji (Japan) Show map of Japan | |
| Geographic coordinates | 38°59′16″N141°06′29″E / 38.987817°N 141.108022°E /38.987817; 141.108022 |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Ennin |
| Completed | 850 |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iv |
| Designated | 2011 |
| Reference no. | 1277 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Mōtsū-ji (毛越寺) is a Buddhist temple of theTendai sect in the town ofHiraizumi in southernIwate Prefecture,Japan, and also refers to the historic area surrounding it containing the ruins of two older temples, Enryū-ji (圓隆寺) and Kashō-ji (嘉祥寺) 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 aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site as "Historic Monuments and Sites of Hiraizumi".
Mōtsū-ji was founded in 850 byEnnin (Jikaku Daishi). At the time, the area was a frontier betweenYamato Japan and theEmishi of theTōhoku region of northernHonshū.
In the mid-12th century,Fujiwara no Motohira, the secondNorthern Fujiwara lord, built a temple here called Enryū-ji. There is also a possibility that Motohira's fatherFujiwara no Kiyohira 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. Themain hall contained a monumental statue ofYakushi Nyōrai, the Buddha of Healing, with monumental statues of theTwelve Divine Generals (Jūni Shinshō), sculpted byUnkei 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-storymain gate, abell tower and asutra repository. The temple's name placard was written byFujiwara no Tadamichi (藤原忠通) and the ornamental poem slips byFujiwara 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 nearbyChūson-ji.
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 theLotus Sutra.
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.[1]
The temple was rebuilt during theEdo period; 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 aHondō enshrining a Yakushi Nyōrai, and a Jogyō-dō meditation hall. TheOizumi-ga-ike 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 theSakuteiki (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 amagatama) 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 aSpecial Place of Scenic Beauty and a Special National Historic Site.[2]
Media related toMotsuji at Wikimedia Commons
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