Mōtsū-ji

photo by 663highland · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Of the twelfth-century halls only the foundations remain: the garden around them has survived intact.

Only the stone bases of the halls, which burned down in medieval fires, remain of the temple that the Fujiwara enlarged on a grand scale in the twelfth century: the Pure Land garden that surrounds them, with the Ōizumi-ga-ike pond and its inlets carved into the rock, has survived to this day with its original layout – the only Heian-period Jōdo garden preserved in this way in the whole of Japan.

Tendai temple founded in 850 by Ennin, rebuilt on a grand scale in the twelfth century by Fujiwara no Motohira and Hidehira. Part of the Hiraizumi UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011, with the double designation of Special Historic Site and Special Place of Scenic Beauty.

ℹ️ Open all year, 8:30–17:00 (16:30 from 5 November to 4 March). Admission 700¥. 7 minutes' walk from JR Hiraizumi Station.

🚉 Hiraizumi · 11 min walk

Sources: motsuji.or.jp · town.hiraizumi.iwate.jp

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