Fujiwara no Kiyohira moved his base of operations thirty kilometers southwest from contemporary Esashi to Hiraizumi around the end of the eleventh century. His reasons for choosing Hiraizumi clearly included its easy accessibility by both land and water routes and its proximity to excellent farmland. Another reason was geomantic -- the geography of and around Hiraizumi has the same Feng Shui merits of Kyoto. Kiyohira first built a single pagoda atop the 134-meter hill called Kanzan, located about one kilometer southwest of the confluence of the Kitakami and Koromogawa Rivers. This single tower marked Hiraizumi as the center of eastern Japan, and symbolized Kiyohira's utopian dream. 　The imperial court spread its influence both north and south from the Nara-Kyoto area. This expansion of state borders led to constant warring with these new areas' previous inhabitants. In northern Japan, the sole local power remaining at the close of the eleventh century was Fujiwara no Kiyohira. Kiyohira's father, Tsunekiyo, was a nobleman and high-ranking local official who married a daughter of the Abe family that controlled much of the Kitakami River valley north of Hiraizumi. He fought on the Abe side against the imperium and was executed as a traitor following their defeat. Kiyohira was saved by his mother and grew up in another powerful local family, the Kiyohara. 　The Kiyohara also ran afoul of the local imperial representatives and were destroyed. Though he lost his wife and children, once again, Kiyohira survived physically and politically unscathed -- a testament to his talents as both politician and warrior. 　The loss of his father, first wife, and children by his early thirties left a deep impression on Kiyohira, who became an avowed pacifist. Around the beginning of the twelfth century, he began the construction of Chusonji, culminating with the 1124 completion of the golden Konjikido. At the 1126 dedication ceremony for the temple complex, Kiyohira is said to have read aloud a pledge to create an ideal land without war. Only two years later, Kiyohira died peacefully and was mummified and enshrined in the central dais of his golden hall. 　Kiyohira's son, Motohira, followed in his father's footsteps, building his own massive temple complex. The main hall of Motohira's Motsuji is recorded as "unparalleled in the realm," but the process of building this spectacular temple was incredibly arduous. Perhaps this stress contributed to Motohira's early death from cerebral hemorrhage. 　However, Motohira's son, Hidehira, finished his father's work. He went on to complete the center of Hiraizumi, building his own temple, Muryokoin, and making major changes at Hiraizumi's political center, Yanagi no Gosho. 　 　Hiraizumi is protected north and south by two great monasterial complexes, Chusonji and Motsuji. These temples would have warded off disease, demons, and other unseen or invisible enemies. 　The Oshu Fujiwara utopian plan centered on Hiraizumi but extended to the adjacent environment as well. The lords of Hiraizumi buried sutras at the tops of the surrounding mountains for protection, and planted blossoming cherry trees to beautify the area. 　Kiyohira and his heirs sought the realization of a peaceful Buddhist paradise on earth. The ultimate reflection of this ideal can be found in Hidehira's Muryokoin. The garden represents the Buddha's Pure Land and the temple the palaces of the western paradise. 　This massive utopian project was supported by untold economic resources from trade in valuables including plentiful local alluvial gold, and by great political whrewithal within the Hiraizumi ruling class. 　The third Hiraizumi lord, Fujiwara no Hidehira, died amidst troubled times in 1187. He entreated his sons to stand behind the fugitive lord and military general Minamoto no Yoshitsune and resist Yoshitsune's brother Yoritomo. 　Based not far from modern Tokyo, Yoritomo was attempting to unite Japan by force under his banner, and Hiraizumi stood in his way to the north. Hiraizumi was also harboring Yoshitune, whom Yoritomo considered a traitor. 　Hidehira's wish went unheeded, and his heir Yasuhira forced Yoshitsune into suicide in early 1189 in an attempt to placate Yoritomo. By September of the same year, Hiraizumi was defeated, opening the door for Yoritomo's creation of Japan's first shogunate. 　Hiraizumi suffered after the loss of its patron. Major fires scorched Motsuji in 1226 and Chusonji in 1337. By 1600, little remained of the Oshu Fujiwara utopia. 　However, the people of Hiraizumi are proud of their rich heritage, and have taken great care to preserve the once great city's sites and remains. Though much of Hiraizumi's great architecture has been lost, the Oshu Fujiwara legacy lives on in the hearts and performing arts of Hiraizumi's inhabitants.
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