We have had various images of Hiraizumi since it was burned down in 1189. In literature, the works of Basho, Tayama Katai and Miyazawa Kenji are well known. The gap between past prosperity and present decline, Hiraizumi presents us with a suitable subject. We describe the legend of Hiraizumi from the viewpoint of the Oshu Fujiwara familly, Minamoto no Yoshitsune and the gold legend.
The Oshu Fujiwara family was regarded as the symbol of integration of warriors in medieval Tohoku and their lineage was used as the authority that justified supremacy over this area. The Date family, which claimed southern Tohoku in the Sengoku period, tried to insist they were the descendants of the Oshu Fujiwara family, which is in fact, only a legend. Hiraizumi was also described as an important political center of Tohoku in the Amarume shi kyuki.
The legend that a younger brother of Fujiwara no Hidehira was the founder of the Tsugaru family in northern Tohoku indicates that the same idea existed in that area. The Ando family in Tsugaru was also thought to be the descendants of the Abe family, who were closely related to the Fujiwara family. The line from the Abes to the Fujiwaras was the main current of warrior society in medieval Tohoku.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune is the most famous person in Japanese history. The legend of him did not appear in the documents written during his life. In the late ages, the tale of him resurfaced repeatedly and become legend.
He lived in Hiraizumi twice. Hidehira had faith in him and expected him to be the leader of the Fujiwara family. However, he killed himself at the Koromogawa fortress which was attacked by Fujiwara no Yasuhira. The place he died is now called "Takadachi", a sightseeing spot in Hiraizumi.
The legend completed in Gikeiki produced a new story that told of Yoshitsune crossing the Tsugaru Straits to Hokkaido in the late medieval period. In the Edo period, authorized historical studies like Zoku honcho tsugan described that he had lived in Hokkaido, after escaping from Hiraizumi, but local scholar Aihara Tomonao denied this view. Finally, the theory that Yoshitsune became Chingis Khan was advocated in the middle of the Meiji period.
This legend had been believed although eventually the idea was soon disproved scientifically. The routes he escaped through are now a sightseeing area for his tragic hero and the mysterious Hiraizumi.
The phrase: 'the palaces of the Lord of this island ---that he has a very large palace, all covered with fine gold' in 'The Travels of Marco Polo' was once supposed to describe the Konjikido. There is no doubt that one of the economic foundations of the Oshu Fujiwara family was gold dust, as is shown by many cultural properties decorated with gold in Hiraizumi and the descriptions of its archives. The recent excavation has also revealed a little bit of gold.
The legend of Kaneuri Kichiji indicates the existence of brokers between Kyoto and Hiraizumi. Yanagida Kunio insisted that the legend was deeply correlated with the story of new riches through charcoal making in eastern Japan. Around the Hiraizumi area, the legend of gold appears in the tomb of Kichiji and gorinto (tombstone made in five different parts symbolizing the earth, water, fire, wind and air) at the southern face of Mt.Kinkei san and the Chojagahara ruined temple (historic site of Iwate), which is said to be the site of his house.
The historical documents written in the Edo period described that Fujiwara no Motohira had buried a sculpture of a chicken made from gold, and Hidehira had also deposited a lump of gold in at Mt.Kinkei. In actuality, a jar filled with gold was excavated near the top of the mountain in 1759, and a cylindrical sutra case was uncovered in 1935.Thus, the study of Hiraizumi has many of viewpoints and is significant to the study of the history of human thought and other sciences today.
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