Hakusan Heisenji Temple (Heisenji Hakusan Shrine)

As the main praying grounds for the sacred peak, Hakusan, this sacred place opened in the year 717, by Taicho. During its peak during the Sengoku period, there were 48 palaces, 36 pavilions, and 8000 Buddhist temples. However, a rebellion took place in Echizen in the year 1574, which burnt the entire mountain down. In 1583, Kenkai the priest refurbished the entire place, but it was a minuscule attempt compared to its peak days.

In the Meiji period, Heisenji got rid of its status as a temple because of the Shinbutsu-Bunri (separation of Buddhism), which resulted in temple buildings being torn down and became the Hakusan Shrine. In 1989, a large-scale excavation took place, and various artifacts and ruins were found. This was Japan’s largest excavation to date, which gave the Japanese a glimpse of the religious city. Excavations are still taking place, since the original grounds used to be 10 times larger than the ones found now.

The old grounds had approximately 1.2km stone roads, and large cedar trees that survived the fire. The artifacts can be seen in the “Hakusan Heisenji History Museum - Mahoroba”, which is next to the old shrine road.