Hakusan Heisenji Temple

はくさんへいせんじ

These Quiet Former Temple Grounds Evoke Memories of Medieval Japan

Some 1,300 years ago, the monk Taicho established a temple here dedicated to the Hakusan faith. During Japan's medieval period, the temple grounds were home to numerous Buddhist halls, shrines, and priests' quarters, but nearly all of Heisenji was burned to the ground in 1574's Ikko-ikki uprising. The temple was rebuilt, but at the beginning of the Meiji era (1868–1912), Japan's unification of Buddhism and Shinto was prohibited and the two were separated, and Heisenji became a Shinto shrine. Archaeological investigations in recent years have progressively revealed more and more of Heisenji's history.

• 66-2-12 Heisenji, Heisenji-cho, Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture
• +81 (779) 87-6001 (Hakusan Heisenji Temple Historical Museum Mahoroba)

• 10 min. drive from Katsuyama Sta. on the Echizen Railway