Chūson-ji Temple

Chūson-ji is the head temple of the Tendai sect in northeastern Japan. It was founded in 850 by the high priest Jikaku Daishi Ennin of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei. In the early 12th century, large-scale construction of the temple complex was carried out under Fujiwara no Kiyohira, the first lord of the Northern Fujiwara clan.

In 2011, Chūson-ji and its surroundings were inscribed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

History of Chūson-ji

Chūson-ji and the Fujiwara Clan

Kiyohira Fujiwara established Chūson-ji to console the spirits of allies and enemies who had perished in the wars that devastated northeastern Japan in the late 11th century. He aspired to create a Buddhist utopia, a peaceful land shaped by the teachings of the Buddha. This vision also reflected his personal vow of nonviolence, following the loss of many of his family members and his forced involvement in bitter conflicts with his own relatives.

The temple complex, based on the teachings of the Tendai sect - which harmonised the Lotus Sutra, Pure Land Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism - grew to immense proportions. According to the Azuma Kagami, the official record of the Kamakura shogunate, it eventually encompassed forty temple halls and three hundred monks’ quarters.

Kiyohira’s successors carried on his vision. His son, Motohira, founded Mōtsū-ji Temple, dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai (the Medicine Buddha). His grandson, Hidehira, established Muryōkō-in Temple, dedicated to Amida Nyorai (the Buddha of Infinite Light). Together, these three temples - each built by a generation of the Northern Fujiwara clan and enshrining Shakyamuni (past Buddha), Yakushi (present Buddha), and Amida (future Buddha) - embodied Kiyohira’s wish to guide all beings across past, present, and future into the Buddha’s Pure Land.

Mōtsū-ji Temple still exists, though much of its original buildings and structures have been lost over time due to disasters and the decline of the Fujiwara clan. Muryōkō-in Temple no longer stands, but its site is preserved as a historic landmark.

Chūson-ji and the Sendai Domain

During the Sengoku period, the temples of Hiraizumi fell further into ruin. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeated the Hōjō clan at Odawara, he sought to pacify the Tōhoku region. Under his orders, Chūson-ji’s treasured scriptures - the Kongō-ji (Gold and Silver Character Sutra) and the Kinjiki-ji (Gold Character Sutra), totalling over 4,000 volumes - were transported to Fushimi in Kyoto. Many of these texts are now preserved at Kongōbu-ji Temple on Mount Kōya (Wakayama Prefecture) and Kanshin-ji (Osaka Prefecture), collectively known today as the Chūson-ji Sutras.

In the Edo period, Hiraizumi came under the control of the Sendai Domain. Successive daimyō protected Chūson-ji, maintaining its income, repairing its halls, and supporting its upkeep. Along the temple’s approach stand ancient cedar trees, over 350 years old, planted by the Sendai Domain. Many of the temple buildings scattered throughout the grounds were also constructed during this time.

The Sendai lords were patrons of Noh theatre, promoting the sacred Noh performances that had long been performed by Chūson-ji monks at Hakusan Shrine within the temple grounds. They even built a Noh stage and donated costumes for these ceremonies. During this era, under the Edo shogunate’s temple policies, Chūson-ji became a branch temple directly affiliated with Tōeizan Kan’ei-ji in Ueno.

Chūson-ji in the Shōwa Era

From the Meiji period onward, the Konjikidō underwent several repairs funded by the national treasury. After World War II, the loss of the Hōryū-ji Kondo murals sparked greater awareness of cultural preservation, leading to the enactment of the Cultural Properties Protection Law. Under this law, the Konjikidō became Japan’s first designated National Treasure building, and over 3,000 other treasures from Chūson-ji were recognised as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties.

In 1950, a scientific investigation was conducted on the remains of the four generations of Fujiwara lords, which had been enshrined in the Konjikidō’s shumidan (altar platform) for 800 years. The study revealed details about their ethnicity, age, cause of death, height, and blood type. Among numerous burial items, a lotus seed discovered in the coffin of the fourth lord, Yasuhira, successfully bloomed in 1998. This flower, now known as the Chūson-ji Lotus, produces delicate blossoms each early summer.

In 1958, the temple received a sacred flame - shared from the Eternal Dharma at Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, which has been continuously kept burning there since the time of Saichō (Dengyō Daishi, 767–822), the founder of the Japanese Tendai sect. This act officially recognised Chūson-ji as the head temple of the Tendai sect in Tōhoku. A major dismantling and restoration of the Konjikidō was completed in 1962, restoring the hall’s original brilliance.

Konjikidō (Golden Hall)

After losing its patrons from Fujiwara clan, Chūson-ji gradually declined. A disastrous fire in 1337 consumed many of its halls and treasures. Amid warfare and poverty, only the Konjikidō and sacred texts such as the Chūson-ji Sutra were preserved and passed down through the generations. Yet the Konjikidō, and numerous cultural artifacts in architecture, painting, calligraphy, crafts, sculpture, archaeology, and folklore have survived in excellent condition, making Chūson-ji one of the foremost repositories of Heian Buddhist art in eastern Japan.

The interior and exterior of the Golden Hall are entirely covered in gold leaf, giving the hall its name, “all-golden” (kaikinshoku). The inner sanctuary features exquisite mother-of-pearl inlay imported from the South Seas (Southeast Asia) via the maritime Silk Road, as well as decorations of ivory and precious stones. At the center of the shumidan (altar platform) sits Amida Buddha, flanked by Kannon and Seishi Bodhisattvas, six Jizō Bodhisattvas, and the guardian deities Jikokuten and Zōchōten, creating a unique arrangement of sacred figures.

The remains of the four generations of the Northern Fujiwara - Kiyohira, the builder of Chūson-ji; Motohira, founder of Mōtsū-ji; Hidehira, and Yasuhira, the fourth lord - are enshrined in golden coffins within the peacock-adorned altar.

In 1689, the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō embarked on his celebrated journey, "Oku no Hosomichi" (“The Narrow Road to the Interior”), accompanied by his disciple Sora. Forty-four days after departing Edo, on May 13, he arrived in Hiraizumi. There he visited several historic sites, including Chūson-ji, where he finally made a long-awaited pilgrimage to the Konjikidō. Deeply moved, Bashō referred to it as the “Hall of Light”.