Yamadera, Sendai, Hiraizumi, and Matsushima

Northeastern Honshu, Japan (October 2024)

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Yamadera

Yamadera (lit. ″Mountain Temple″) is a small town on the banks of the Tachiya river, 12km northeast of Yamagata City. It is the site of Risshaku-ji, a Buddhist temple founded in 860, which has been a major place of pilgrimage ever since. This temple consists of a series of structures built on a steep forested slope above the Tachiya river. Starting from the Konponchudo, a prayer hall at the foot of the compound, a stone path comprising 1,015 steps provides access to the other buildings, up to the Okunoin sanctuary at the top of the compound.

View over the Tachiya valley near Yamadera.

Site of Risshaku-ji seen from Yamadera. A few buildings of the temple are visible in the picture.

The Konponchudo (the main prayer hall at the base of the temple) and its statue of a seated Buddha, in front of which people come to pray. Konponchudo hosts an ″eternal flame″ said to have been burning since the founding of the temple.

The Ubado, a small hall seen shortly after the start of the ascent. The two main statues represent the fearsome woman Datsueba and the demon Keneo, who guard the crossing of the Sanzu river, believed in Japanese Buddhism to separate the world of the living from the world of the afterlife. Here, passing by the Ubado symbolizes entry into the next world. So, pilgrims should purify their bodies and souls before proceeding further.

Midahora, a large rock face with carved features located below the Niomon (see below). The shape of the whole rock is said to resemble Amida Nyorai Buddha (the Healing Buddha).

The Niomon.

Nokyodo, a small structure erected on a rock, and the Kaisando on its right, both overlooking the valley of the Tachiya river.

The Nokyodo and the valley of the Tachiya river.

Views of the Okunoin sanctuary at the the end of the stone staircase.

Rows of statues in the Yamadera cemetery, a short walk east of the Konponchudo. These statues have been brought by families who were looking for some comfort after the death of an infant or a miscarriage. Their large number (only a fraction of them is shown in the photos) highlights the important spiritual role played by the temple, which attracts pilgrims from far away in Japan.

A short hike further, about 1km northeast of the Konponchudo, there is a mysterious place called Tarumizu. It is an unusual ensemble of natural caves carved in white rock cliffs textured with honeycomb-like patterns. A solitary wooden torii stands in one of the caves, under a small Inari shrine, itself built into a smaller cavity. This site may have been, and may well still be, a training ground for Shugendo practitioners known as yamabushi.

Sendai

Sendai is the capital of the Miyagi prefecture. With a population of just over one million, it is the 12th largest city in Japan. Its history as a city began when the Sendai domain was founded at the beginning of the Edo period. Date Masamune (1567-1636) was then granted this domain. He immediately started the construction of both the Sendai castle on Mount Aoba (Aoba-yama) and the surrounding castle town. The Date clan ruled the Sendai domain from this castle throughout the entire Edo period until the Meiji restauration in 1868. Much of the historic center of Sendai, including the castle, was destroyed in July 1945 during the bombing of the city.

Equestrian statue of Date Masamune on Mount Aoba.

View of Sendai from Mount Aoba.

The Zuihoden, the mausoleum of Date Masamune.

The original mausoleum, built one year after the death of Masamune, was destroyed during the bombing of July 1945. The current mausoleum is a near-exact replica built in 1979. Designed in the ornate style of the Momoyama period (1573-1603), it features an exuberant combination of intricate shapes, vibrant colors, gold leaf, and beautiful decorations.

Osaki Hachimangu.

This Shinto shrine was built in 1607 as the guardian of the Sendai castle and the city.

First building encountered on the shrine's grounds. Called the Nagatoko, it forms a kind of gate before reaching the main building formed by the connected haiden (the hall of worship) and honden (the hall where the gods reside).

Facade of the haiden, covered in black lacquer in its lower part and decorated with a Momoyama-style combination of brilliant colors and gold leaf in its upper part.

Close-up on the decorations of the upper central part of the facade of the haiden.

Rinno-ji.

This Buddhist temple was established in 1441 in Yanagawa by Date Mochimune as the temple of the Date clan. It changed sites several times with the moves of the clan, before finally settling down in Sendai in 1602 at a location north of the castle. The patronage of the Date clan ceased at the Meiji restoration. After a fire destroyed most of the buildings in 1876, some were rebuilt in 1915 and a garden was added. More buildings were added later, including the three-storied pagoda.

The sanmon.

Main prayer hall.

Belfry and pagoda.

Pyramid of stelae adjacent to the temple's cemetery.

Dry garden in a courtyard.

Garden with ponds in the back of the temple.

Hiraizumi

Hiraizumi is located about 85km north of Sendai. Today, it is a small, quiet town. But in the late Heian period, from 1089 to 1189, three generations of the Fujiwara clan, using gold extracted from their mines in Mutsu, made Hiraizumi a wealthy city of around 100,000 people, rivaling Kyoto in splendor and culture. They attempted to create a kind of Buddhist utopia on earth with large temples and monasteries. Although this wealth attracted the envy of other feudal lords, the end of Hiraizumu's splendor was triggered by a family issue in Kamakura. There, Minamoto Yoshitsune, who won many battles, became considered the greatest warrior of his time. His older half-brother Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, became angered by this fame. Yoshitsune fled Kamakura and took refuge in Hiraizumi. In retaliation, Yoritomo attacked the Fujiwara domain, won, and destroyed Hiraizumi.

Chuson-ji temple.

Founded in 850, Chuson-ji was considerably expanded in the 12th century by the Fujiwara family. Today it forms a large complex comprising many buildings scattered among Japanese cedars planted by the Date family of Sendai. But only two of them are original constructions from the 12th century. One is the magnificent Konjikido completed in 1124. It contains 11 statues, including one of Amida Nyorai (the Buddha of Infinite Light) and one of Kannon. Almost all of its surfaces, including those of the statues, are gilded with gold leaf. To ensure its long-term protection, the Konjikido was encased in a huge concrete building in 1963. Photos are not allowed.

Left: Statue marking the entrance to the Chuson-ji compound. Right: The Benkeido, one of the first prayer halls seen after entering the compound. It is dedicated to the god of war and contains a wooden statue of a warrior named Benkei who remained loyal to Minamoto Yoshitsune.

The Yakushido, believed to bring good fortune to the eyes.

Interior of the Hondo (the main hall of Chuson-ji).

Statues inside the Dainichido.

The Daichojuin.

Interiors of the Benzaitendo (left) and the Mine no Yakushido (right).

Motsu-ji temple.

Like Chuson-ji, this temple was founded around 850. Under the Fujiwara lords, it had numerous buildings spread around a pond. None of them have survived and only a few have been reconstructed. But its beautiful jodo teien centered around the pond remains. (A jodo teien is a type of Buddhist temple garden aimed at replicating the concept of Pure Land on earth.)

Basho Haiku monument seen immediately after entering the temple grounds. It is a large stone engraved with a poignant haiku on the impermanence of glory, written by Basho in 1689 following his visit to the nearby memorial of Minamoto Yoshitsune: Summer grass / It's all that's left / Of warriors' dreams.

View of the pond of the jodo teien.

Prayer room in the Hondo, the main hall of the temple (rebuilt in 1989), with a statue of Yakushi Nyorai (Healing Buddha) in the center and statues of Bodhisattva on its sides.

The Kaisando, dedicated to Buddhist priest Ennin, who founded Risshaku-ji in Yamadera and both Chuson-ji and Motsu-ji in Hiraizumi.

Statue of Jizo Bosatsu, the guadian deity of children and travelers.

Jogyodo (circumambulation hall) rebuilt in 1732.

Statue of Amida Nyorai (Buddha of Infinite Light) in the Jogyodo.

Matsushima

Located some 20km northeast of Sendai, Matsushima faces a famous bay dotted with over 200 islets covered with pine trees. The southern part of the city is home to two important Buddhist temples, Entsu-in and Zuigan-ji, close to each other.

Oshima.

This tiny island is located south of Matsushima and is accessed via a short footbridge. It contains numerous hand-made caves that may have served for meditation and training, and, for some of them, as cinerarium. The making of some of these caves date back to the Kamakura period (1192-1333). Their use continued until the end of the Edo period.

View of Oshima from the mainland, with the footbridge on the right. Rectangular caves and a small Shinto shrine are visible on the island.

Left: Another view of the island. Right: The shrine's torii and the bridge seen from the shrine.

Some of the many caves cut into the rock faces of the island. There are similar caves in the precincts of Entsu-in and Zuigan-ji.

Megaliths on the eastern side of the island.

View from the east side of the island.

Entsuin temple.

This temple is dedicated to Kannon, the Japanese Buddhist goddess of mercy. It was built in 1647 by Date Tadamune, son of Date Masamune and second lord of the Sendai domain, to house the mausoleum of his son, Date Mitsumune, who died suddenly at age 19.

Somptuous gardens at the entrance of the temple.

In the Daihitei (main hall). The statue at the center represents Kannon in a sitting meditation position. It was carved during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) out of hinoki (Japanese cypress).

The Sankeiden, the mausoleum of Date Mitsumine in the precinct of the temple.

Caves used as cinerarium in the back of the precinct.

Zuangji.

This temple was established in 828 as a Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect, but was later converted into a Zen temple during the Kamakura period. It was reconstructed in 1609 by Date Masamune.

Gates giving access to the main hall, at the end of a long straight alley flanked by cedar trees. The gate at the center is called the Nakamon, while the gate on the left, mostly hidden by a cedar trunk, is the Onarimon, the gate reserved for high-ranking visitors.

The Hondo (main hall) standing behind an austere dry garden. It faces southeast toward the bay. It is 38m wide and 24m deep.

View of the Onarigenkan to the left of the Hondo. Accessible via the Onarimon, it is the reception hall for high-ranking visitors.

The Godaido, a tiny temple erected on an islet of the bay southeast of the Zuiganji temple.

Tea house originally built in Kyoto and gifted to Date Masamune by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Date Tadamune, Masamune's son, moved it to its present location overlooking the bay of Matsushima and named it Kanrantei, which approximately means ″terrace to see the waves″. Its doors and walls are embellished by paintings attributed to Kano Sanraku (1559-1635).

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