Hiraizumi 平泉 Photo Gallery by Matthew Haswell at pbase.com

Hiraizumi 平泉

A small, rural town in southern Iwate-ken, Hiraizumi's unassuming appearance belies its distant history as the power base of the Northern Fujiwara dynasty. Established as the capital of the realm by Fujiwara Kiyohira at the end of the 11th century, it was built into a grand cultural and religious center rivaling even Kyōto. Destroyed by the forces of Minamoto Yoritomo 1189 in their campaign against the Fujiwara, Hiraizumi became a mere ghost of its former self, with only the temple complex of Chūson-ji and gardens of Mōtsū-ji surviving from that golden age.

Festival lanterns at Hiraizumi Station	Tsukimi-zaka slope to Chūson-ji	Buddhist altar at the foot of Kan-zan	Steps down to a lesser temple building
Patches of sun breaking through the trees	Dragon-lion statue at Benkei-dō	Benkei-dō detail	Chatting beside a rural panorama
Smaller temple hall along the ascent	Yaezakura blossoms and Iwate countryside	Yakushi-dō (Medicine Hall)	Detail with hanging paper, Yakushi-dō
Lantern and banners at the Hon-dō (Main Hall)	Hon-dō, Chūson-ji	Leading a tour group out of the Hon-dō	Visitors at the temizuya, Hon-dō
Jizō outside Fudō-dō	Tying omikuji at Mine-yakushi-dō	Dainichi-dō	Barred entrance to the Konjiki-dō (Golden Hall)
Konjiki-dō main approach	Altars and jizō by the Konjiki-dō	Concrete hall housing the Konjiki-dō	Steps leading to Tenman-gū
Time-weathered old hall	Statue of Matsuo Bashō	Approach to Hakusan-jinja	Thatched roof of Nō Butai, Hakusan-jinja
Frontal view of the Nō stage	Miniature shrines in honor of the Chinese Zodiac	Hakusan-jinja Nō Butai	Gateway along the Tsukimi-zaka
Jājāmen noodles - an Iwate speciality	Having a rest in Kyūkanjizaiō-in Teien	Hand-fishing kids in Kyūkanjizaiō-in Teien	Overview of the Jōdo-style garden
Jōdo (Pure Land) Garden and pond at Mōtsū-ji	Hon-dō at Mōtsū-ji	Incense urn at the Hon-dō, Mōtsū-ji	Narrow island and far side of the pond
Small tree and resting boat, Mōtsū-ji	Kaizan-dō at Mōtsū-ji	View across the rice paddy to the pond	Incense urn near the Kaizan-dō
Pair of dragon boats across the pond	Remains of Kyōrō	Heian-era style yarimizu (Feeder Stream)	Little islet at the pondside
Winding yarimizu	Small bridge over the feeder stream	Buddha near the Jōgyō-dō (Circumambulation Hall)	Shoes at the steps, Jōgyō-dō
Maple branches beside the pond	Rocky cape in miniature	Haiku monuments carved by Bashō	English translation of Bashō's famous haiku
View along the pond to the Keizan-dō	Rocks off the "cape"	Sidewalk beside Hiraizumi's main street	Southbound local train at Hiraizumi Station

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