Hiraizumi

A culture of gold flourished in Hiraizumi in the late 11th and 12th centuries, when the Oshu Fujiwara family, a then-powerful clan, chose to move here. Massive temple- building projects were carried out so as to create a peaceful society based on the principles of Buddhism. Hiraizumi evokes Kyoto in many ways, especially in its similar topography. In its heyday, the city served as a convenient base to transport gold, fine horses, and other materials by land and sea, and trading it made the Oshu Fujiwara family prosper. Hiraizumi, then-called Mutsu, supplied much of the gold to decorate images of the Buddha and tactfully traded with the capital Kyoto and even China.