Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information.

Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land

Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land

Hiraizumi - Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land comprises five sites, including the sacred Mount Kinkeisan. It features vestiges of government offices dating from the 11th and 12th centuries when Hiraizumi was the administrative centre of the northern realm of Japan and rivalled Kyoto. The realm was based on the cosmology of Pure Land Buddhism, which spread to Japan in the 8th century. It represented the pure land of Buddha that people aspire to after death, as well as peace of mind in this life. In combination with indigenous Japanese nature worship and Shintoism, Pure Land Buddhism developed a concept of planning and garden design that was unique to Japan.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Hiraizumi – Temples, jardins et sites archéologiques représentant la Terre Pure bouddhiste

Hiraizumi - Temples, jardins et sites archéologiques représentant la Terre Pure bouddhiste regroupe six sites, dont la montagne sacrée Kinkeisan. On y trouve des vestiges de bâtiments gouvernementaux des XIe et XIIe siècle, époque où Hiraizumi était le cœur administratif du royaume septentrional du Japon et rivalisait avec Kyoto. Le royaume reflétait la cosmologie du bouddhisme de la Terre Pure, des préceptes qui se sont répandus au Japon au VIIIe siècle. Ils représentaient la Terre Pure de Bouddha à laquelle aspiraient les pratiquants après la mort et la paix de l'esprit dans cette vie-ci. En combinaison avec des croyances du culte japonais de la nature et le shintoïsme, le bouddhisme de la Terre Pure a développé une conception architecturale et paysagère unique au Japon.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

هيرايزومي- المعابد والحدائق والمواقع الأثرية التي تمثل مدرسة "الأرض الطاهرة" في الديانة البوذية

يتألف هذا المجمع من 5 مواقع، منها جبل كينكايسان المقدس، ويشمل معالم أثرية لمبانٍ حكومية تعود إلى القرنين الحادي عشر والثاني عشر عندما كانت هيرايزومي تمثل المركز الإداري للجزء الشمالي من اليابان وكانت تنافس مدينة كيوتو بنشاطها. وكانت المنطقة الشمالية تنتمي إلى مدرسة "الأرض الطاهرة" البوذية التي انتشرت إلى سائر أنحاء اليابان في القرن الثامن. وتدل تسمية هذه المدرسة على أرض بوذا الطاهرة التي يطمح الناس إلى بلوغها بعد مماتهم وعلى صفاء الذهن في الحياة الدنيوية. وبفضل مزيج من عقائد عبادة الطبيعة المتأصلة في التقليد الياباني وعقائد الشنتو، انبثق من مدرسة "الأرض الطاهرة" مفهوم تفردت به اليابان في مجال التخطيط وتصميم الحدائق.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

平泉——象征着佛教净土的庙宇、园林与考古遗址

由5处遗址组成,其中包括圣山金鸡山。11及12世纪时,平泉是日本北部地区与京都相抗衡的行政中心,至今尚留存有当时府衙的遗迹。平泉文化遗产中的遗址按照8世纪流传到日本的佛教净土宗的宇宙观建成,象征着人们渴望死后往生的佛陀净土以及此生的静心之境。结合了日本本土的自然崇拜与神道教的影响,净土宗发展出了日本独特的规划与园林设计理念。

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Хираизуми – Храмы, сады и археологические памятники, изображающие буддистскую Чистую Землю

состоит из пяти частей, включая священную гору Кинкеисан. Здесь также сохранились остатки зданий государственных учреждений, относящиеся к 11-12 векам. В этот период Хираидзуми являлся административным центром северной Японии и соперничал с южным Киото. Духовной основой жизни жителей этой области был Буддизм Чистой Земли, получивший распространение в Японии с 8-го века. Это учение основывалось на представлении о Чистой земле Будды как месте, где люди мечтают оказаться после смерти, и о реальной жизни – как месте успокоения духа. В сочетании с чисто японским поклонением природе и элементами синтоизма, Буддизм Чистой Земли оказал влияние на концепцию планирования и садового дизайна, присущую только Японии.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Hiraizumi – Templos, jardines y sitios arqueológicos representativos de la Tierra Pura budista

Este sitio comprende cinco lugares, entre los que figura el sacrosanto Monte Kinkeisan. También posee vestigios de edificios gubernamentales que datan de los siglos XI y XII, cuando Hiraizumi era el centro político y administrativo del reino septentrional del Japón y rivalizaba con Kyoto. La disposición del sitio trata de reflejar la cosmología de la Tierra Pura budista que se propagó en Japón durante el siglo VIII. La Tierra Pura de Buda representa el lugar al que las personas anhelan llegar después de la muerte, así como la paz de espíritu durante la vida. Junto con la veneración autóctona de la naturaleza y el sintoísmo, la Tierra Pura budista dio lugar a una noción de la planificación arquitectónica y del diseño de jardines en el Japón que es única en su género.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

平泉-仏国土(浄土)を表す建築・庭園及び考古学的遺跡群-
浄土を表す寺院、庭園及び考古学的遺跡から成るこの遺産は、聖なる山である金鶏山を含む5つの資産で構成される。平泉は、11世紀から12世紀に京都と肩を並べる日本の北方領域の政治・行政上の拠点であった。その空間は、8世紀に日本に広まった浄土の世界観に基づいており、人びとが来世とともに現世の平安を切望して仏国土(浄土)を表現したものである。日本古来の自然崇拝や神道と融合した中で、浄土思想は日本独自の平面計画、伽藍造営や作庭の理念を発展させた。

source: NFUAJ

Hiraizumi - tempels, tuinen en archeologische vindplaatsen die het Zuiver Land Boeddhisme vertegenwoordigen

Dit gebied bestaat uit vijf locaties, waaronder de heilige berg Kinkeisan. De locaties beschikken over overblijfselen van overheidsgebouwen uit de 11e en 12e eeuw toen Hiraizumi het bestuurlijk centrum was van noordelijk Japan en wedijverde met Kyoto. Het noordelijk koninkrijk was gebaseerd op de kosmologie van het Zuiver Land Boeddhisme, dat zijn intrede in Japan deed in de 8e eeuw. Het vertegenwoordigde het zuivere land van Boeddha waarnaar mensen streven na de dood en gemoedsrust in dit leven. In combinatie met de inheemse Japanse natuuraanbidding en het shintoïsme, ontwikkelde het zuiver land boeddhisme een concept van landschap- en tuinontwerpen dat uniek was voor Japan.

Source: unesco.nl

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The four Pure Land gardens of Hiraizumi, three focused on the sacred mountain Mount Kinkeisan, exemplify a fusion between the ideals of Pure Land Buddhism and indigenous Japanese concepts relating to the relationship between gardens, water and the surrounding landscape. Two gardens are reconstructed, with many details recovered from excavations, and two remain buried.  The short-lived city of Hiraizumi was the political and administrative centre of the northern realm of Japan in the 11th and 12th century and rivalled Kyoto, politically and commercially.  The four gardens were built by the Ôshû Fujiwara family, the northern branch of the ruling clan, as symbolic manifestations of the Buddhist Pure Land on this earth, a vision of paradise translated into reality through the careful disposition of temples in relation to ponds, trees and the peaks of Mount Kinkeisan. The heavily gilded temple of Chûson-ji - the only one remaining from the 12th century -, reflects the great wealth of the ruling clan.

Much of the area was destroyed in 1189 when the city lost its political and administrative status. Such was the spectacular rise and conspicuous wealth of Hiraizumi and its equally rapid and dramatic fall, that it became the source of inspiration for many poets. In 1689, Matsuo Basho, the Haiku poet, wrote: 'Three generations of glory vanished in the space of a dream...'.  The four temple complexes of this once great centre with their Pure Land gardens, a notable surviving 12th century temple, and their relationship with the sacred Mount Kinkeisan are an exceptional group that reflect the wealth and power of Hiraizumi, and a unique concept of planning and garden design that influenced gardens and temples in other cities in Japan.

Criterion (ii): The temples and Pure Land gardens of Hiraizumi demonstrate in a remarkable way how the concepts of garden construction introduced from Asia along with Buddhism evolved on the basis of Japan's ancient nature worship, Shintoism, and eventually developed into a concept of planning and garden design that was unique to Japan. The gardens and temples of Hiraizumi influenced those in other cities, notably Kamakura where one of the temples was based on Chûson-ji.

Criterion (vi): The Pure Land Gardens of Hiraizumi clearly reflect the diffusion of Buddhism over south-east Asia and the specific and unique fusion of Buddhism with Japan's indigenous ethos of nature worship and ideas of Amida's Pure Land of Utmost Bliss. The remains of the complex of temples and gardens in Hiraizumi are symbolic manifestations of the Buddhist Pure Land on this earth.

Integrity

The property encompasses the remains of the temple complexes with their Pure Land Gardens and the sacred mountain of Mount Kinkeisan to which they are visually aligned. Although the sites of Chûson-ji, Môtsû-ji, Kanjizaiô-in Ato and Mount Kinkeisan conserve their visual links in a complete manner, at the Muryôko-in site, houses and other structures have a negative influence. The visual links between the temples and Mount Kinkeisan span areas outside the property in the buffer zone. To protect the spatial landscape relating to Pure Land cosmology, the spatial integrity of these links need to be sustained.

Authenticity

There is no doubt of the authenticity of the excavated remains. Two of the gardens have been reconstructed and this work has been underpinned by rigorous analysis of the built and botanical evidence.  For the surviving structures, the main building Chûson-ji Konjikidô is a remarkable survival and has been conserved with great skill in a way that ensures its authenticity of materials and construction. The authenticity of the temple in its landscape has to a certain extent been compromised by the concrete sheath building that now surrounds it.  To sustain the ability of the property to convey its value, it is essential that the four temples are able to convey in an inspiring way their association with the profound ideals of Pure Land Buddhism.

Protection and Management requirements

The property and its buffer zone are well protected through a range of designations - Historic Sites, Special Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty or Special Places of Scenic Beauty.  Protecting views between sites and protecting their setting will be crucial to ensure that the sites have the ability to demonstrate their relationship with the landscape in a meaningful way though allowing them to be oases of contemplation.  Iwate Prefecture and the relevant municipal government have set up the Iwate Prefecture World Heritage Preservation and Utilization Promotion Council to provide the overall management framework for the property. This Council receives expert advice from the Instructing Committee for Research and Conservation of the Group of Archaeological Sites of Hiraizumi.

The Comprehensive Preservation and Management Plan was completed and implemented in January 2007, and revised in January 2010. Any projects to implement proposals in the plan to re-instate and restore the other two buried gardens will need to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for evaluation by ICOMOS, and consideration by the World Heritage Committee, in line with paragraph 172 of Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. The local government has signed an agreement with the local institutions and invited the local community to patrol the property and offer suggestions on protection, management and presentation.

top