DISCOVER FUKUI

Hakusan Heisenji Shrine was originally established in 717, and is best known for its mossy grounds and gardens. Today, Hakusan Heisenji Shrine is beloved as a quiet refuge from the modern world. Along the path to the shrine, moss covers parts of the stone pavement, with tall Japanese cedar trees on both sides. The main hall is likewise surrounded by a carpet of moss.

Mt. Hakusan has long been a center of faith, because of its large size, and because it provides life-giving water and food. This faith includes worship of the mountain itself, as well as local folk practices. For centuries, Heisenji Hakusan Shrine served as not only a Shinto shrine but also a major Buddhist temple. However, in the 1870s, Emperor Meiji (1852–1912) forced Buddhism and Shinto to split apart, to limit their influence. As a result, Heisenji Hakusan Shrine is a rare example of a Shinto shrine with a name ending in ‑ji (lit. “temple”). 

The temple is said to have been founded by Taicho Daishi in 717, and became the Echizen base of Hakusan worship. In the late Heian period (794-1185), the temple developed as a branch temple of Hieizan Enryakuji Temple of the Tendai sect, located in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, and overlooking Kyoto. During the Warring States period (1467-1568), when the temple was at its peak, there were 48 shrines, 36 halls, and 6,000 monasteries here, with 8,000 priest soldiers.

In 1574, Hakusan Heisenji Temple, which belonged to warlord Oda Nobunaga's side, was attacked by rivals and the entire temple was burned down.

The Hakusan Heisenji Temple precincts are estimated to have covered an area of approximately 1.2 km from east to west and 1.0 km from north to south. Excavations that began in 1989 revealed that the remains of the temple were buried directly under the town, and because of the vastness of the site and its excellent state of preservation, the entire area of the former precincts was designated as a National Historic Site.

Visitors can see the remains of Hakusan Heisenji from the past, including the Mitarashi Pond where the goddess who guided Taicho to Hakusan is said to have appeared, and the large cedar that survived the fire that destroyed the entire temple. At the nearby History Museum Mahoroba, visitors can learn about the history and nature of Hakusan.