Konjiki-do (Golden Hall)

Chuson-ji Temple
Hiraizumi, Japan

This literally Golden Hall (1124) is situated inside a protective outer building (previous page). Within its three altars are interred the mummies of the Fujiwara rulers of Oshu: Kiyohira, the temple's founder, in the center; his son Motohira in the left; and in the right, Motohira's son Hidehira and the head of Hidehira's son Yasuhira. This mummification is unusual, as cremations were the rule in Buddhism, but it seems that Kiyohira wished to secure the blessings of rebirth in the Pure Land in perpetuity to himself and his lineage.