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18-640: At the beginning of the 12th century, large-scale temple construction was carried out by Fujiwara no Kiyohira , the founder of the Northern Fujiwara clan. The temple was built to placate souls of all who died in the Former Nine Years War and the Latter Three Years' War . Kiyohira, who had been forced into bloody battles and lost his family in the war, resolved to bring peace to the region based on an ideal society following

36-422: A cerebral hemorrhage . His mummy was found under the northwest altar. Fujiwara no Hidehira's remains were found under the southwest altar next to a casket containing the head of his son Fujiwara no Yasuhira who was beheaded in 1189. The Konjiki-dō formerly sat outdoors in the open air. In 1288 it was covered with a wooden structure to protect it from the elements. Today it sits behind thick acrylic glass within

54-582: A Taira wife from Kyōto who was called the mother of his six children. She seems to have tired quickly of life on the remote frontier, returned to Kyōto, married a policeman and never returned. He is also known to have had two Emishi wives, a Kiyohara and an Abe. His eldest son and rightful heir was Koretsune. His second son and eventual successor was Motohira, born about 1105, likely to one of Kiyohira's Emishi wives. After setting up house in Hiraizumi, Kiyohira began an ambitious Buddhist temple building program on

72-414: A concrete building (constructed in 1965) and is visible only from the front and sides. Shōgyo Ōba , a maki-e lacquer artist , helped to restore the interior lacquer work in 1964. The building was the first structure designated a National Treasure of Japan . Fujiwara no Kiyohira Fujiwara no Kiyohira ( 藤原 清衡 , 1056 – August 10, 1128) was a samurai of mixed Japanese- Emishi parentage of

90-539: A new home on Mount Kanzan, "Barrier Mountain" in what is now Hiraizumi Town. There appear to be three main reasons for his choice of site. First was its location directly on the Frontier Way, the main highway leading south to the capital and other major cities and north to the lands he controlled. Secondly it was determined to be the center of their realm, Ōshū, as measured from the Shirakawa Barrier in

108-413: A seated Amida Nyōrai surrounded by standing Kannon Bosatsu and Seishi Bosatsu , six Jizō Bosatsu and two Niten statues. One Niten figure is now missing. The building was rebuilt from 1962 to 1968. The mummies were last examined in 1950. It is assumed that the mummy of Fujiwara no Kiyohira was placed under the central altar. Fujiwara no Motohira's remains were identified as he is known to have died of

126-618: A struggle among the three brothers in this complex relationship. Kiyohira won the final victory in the war in 1087, with the aid of Minamoto no Yoshiie (源 義家), the son of another of his old enemies, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi . Kiyohira, however, lost his wife and son during the war, killed by his half-brother Iehira. Victorious in the Latter Three Years' War, Kiyohira returned to his home at Fort Toyota ( Iwayadō Castle ), in present-day Esashi Ward, Ōshū City, Iwate prefecture , to plan his future. Sometime around 1090 to 1100 he built

144-506: Is one of two buildings that survive from the original Chūson-ji temple complex, the other being a sutra repository. The building also serves as a mausoleum containing the mummified remains of the leaders of the Northern Fujiwara clan. The building measures five-and-a-half meters on each side and is eight meters tall. The interior of the building contains three altars, one for each of the first three Fujiwara lords. Each altar had

162-461: The Oku no Hosomichi . The Konjiki-dō ( 金色堂 ) is a small building completed in 1124, which still conveys an image of what Chūson-ji looked like in its prime. The building is covered with gold leaf on both the interior and exterior. Inside, the decorations use mother-of-pearl inlays, woodwork, metalwork, lacquerwork and paintings, bringing together many aspects of late Heian period arts and crafts It

180-676: The Northern Fujiwara dynasty in Japan . He is said to have come from the Watari District in what is now southern Miyagi Prefecture . He served for a time as a military bureaucrat at Fort Taga in modern-day Tagajō , Miyagi Prefecture . Tsunekiyo married a daughter of Abe no Yoritoki , leader of the Emishi who ruled the Kitakami Basin  [ ja ] in what is now Iwate Prefecture and moved to Iwayadō Castle . When

198-543: The forces of Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1189. Chūson-ji survived the conflict, but fell into decline. In 1337 fire destroyed much of the temple; however, more than 3,000 National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties survived. During the Edo period , it was partially rebuilt by the Date clan of Sendai Domain and became a subsidiary temple of Kan'ei-ji in Edo . It was visited by Matsuo Bashō during his travels while writing

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216-519: The late Heian period (794–1185), who was the founder of the Hiraizumi or Northern Fujiwara dynasty that ruled Northern Japan from about 1100 to 1189. Kiyohira was the son of Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo and a daughter of Abe no Yoritoki whose name is not known. He was born somewhere in the Kitakami Basin  [ ja ] in 1056. His father was of the Hidesato branch of the Fujiwara clan which

234-689: The south to Sotogahama in present-day Aomori Prefecture in the north. Thirdly this location is on the Southern side of the Koromo River, in what had traditionally been Japanese territory. Previously Emishi forts were always built on the North side of East or West flowing rivers. There is evidence that Kiyohira did not use the name Fujiwara but the name Kiyohara until 1117, when he was more than 60 years old. But he did use it and passed it on to his children. Kiyohira had several wives and consorts including

252-590: The teachings of Buddha. Per the Azuma Kagami (the official history of the Kamakura shogunate ) the temple contained more than 40 halls and pagodas, and over 300 monks' residences. Kiyohira's son Fujiwara no Motohira continued this plan, and commissioned his own great temple, Mōtsū-ji , nearby. Mōtsū-ji was completed by his son, Fujiwara no Hidehira , who also commissioned Muryōkō-in . Hiraizumi flourished for nearly one hundred years, until its destruction by

270-469: The top of Mount Kanzan, Chūson-ji . This complex of temples, pagodas, repositories and gardens was to be his legacy, the embodiment of his vision for himself, his family and his domain for all time. Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo ( 藤原 経清 , died October 22, 1062) was a member of the martial Hidesato branch of the Fujiwaras and was the father of Fujiwara no Kiyohira , founder of

288-542: Was known for their fighting ability. Even so, Tsunekiyo was a mid-level bureaucrat at Fort Taga in present-day Sendai , Miyagi Prefecture when he married his Emishi wife, left his position and went to live with his wife's family in present-day Iwate Prefecture . Thus, Kiyohira was born in an Emishi household in Emishi territory to a father who was considered a traitor by the Japanese authorities. Much of his early life

306-583: Was personally beheaded by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (源 頼義) with a blunt sword. These are the events which would shape his life and influence his decisions as long as he lived. After he lost his father during the Zenkunen War , his mother became the concubine of his enemy, Kiyohara no Takehira, who had helped Minamoto no Yoriyoshi in the last war. Kiyohira was brought up in this enemy clan as Kiyohara no Kiyohira, with his elder stepbrother Sanehira and younger half-brother Iehira. The Later Three Years' War involved

324-421: Was spent in a community at war with the Japanese central authorities. The Earlier Nine Years' War ( Zenkunen War , 前九年合戦) was fought on and off from 1050 to 1062 while the Latter Three Years' War ( Gosannen War , 後三年合戦) ran from 1083 to 1087. He lost his grandfather, Abe no Yoritoki, in battle in 1057, his uncle Sadato in 1062 and all of his mother's brothers were deported to Kyūshū in the same year. His own father

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