Heisenji Hakusan Shrine

Heisenji Hakusan Shrine sits in the forested hills of Katsuyama on the ruins of what was once one of the largest temple cities in medieval Japan. Founded in 717 by the monk Taicho as the Echizen-side base for worship of sacred Mt. Hakusan, it grew under Tendai Buddhism into a vast religious complex said to have held some 6,000 monastic lodgings and up to 8,000 warrior monks at its 16th-century peak. The entire city was burned to the ground in 1574 during the Ikko-ikki uprisings, and after the Meiji-era separation of Shinto and Buddhism it was reborn as the Shinto shrine seen today. What draws visitors now is the extraordinary moss. A thick emerald carpet blankets the grounds and the ancient stone-paved approach lined with towering cedars, earning the shrine its nickname "the moss temple" (koke no miya) and a reputation as one of the most beautiful moss gardens in Japan. Near the entrance lies Ochozu Pond, the sacred spring where Taicho is said to have received his divine revelation, counted among Japan's 100 Famous Waters. The surrounding excavated ruins are a designated National Historic Site, and the nearby Mahoroba exploration center explains the lost city's history.