Hiraizumi (Iwate)

Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land is a grouping of five sites from late eleventh- and twelfth-century Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The serial nomination was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011,
Hiraizumi in the southwestern part of Iwate Prefecture is a town extending up the Hiraizumi Hill on the west bank of the Kitakami-gawa River, that prospered for almost 100 years from the 11th to 12th centuries as the center of the Tohoku region (the northeastern region). During the Heian Period, the Fujiwara were the most powerful clan in Japan. In 1105, Hiraizumi was chosen as the seat of the "Northern branch" of the Fujiwara family. The city steadily grew in cultural sophistication and political power, so that it even came to rival Kyoto, the national capital.
Access: Guests take JR Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Ichinoseki Station (130-150 minutes) and then the JR Tohoku Main Line from Ichinoseki to Hiraizumi (8 minutes).

 


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