Katagihara haiji ato (the ruins of deserted Katagihara Temple) (樫原廃寺跡)
Located in Katagihara in Saikyo Ward of Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Katagihara haiji ato are the ruins of an ancient temple, which are designated as a National Historic Site. The site is at the eastern foot of Nagaoka Hill in the southwest area of Kyoto City. The temple is considered to have been built in the Hakuho period, and abolished in the middle of the Heian period. It was named after the place because the name of the temple had not been discovered. Today, the site is in a historic park, and has a reconstructed octagonal tower (a stylobate).
History
The ruins were discovered during the construction of municipal houses in 1967, and an excavation research was conducted. This research first found granite foundation stones, and has determined that there had been an octagonal tower (remains of an octagonal tower stylobate supported by bricks were found). Also, remains of a chumon (an inner gate) with a base mound were found at the south of the octagonal tower, along with remains of a cloister facing south and mud walls with a roof surrounding the tower at the east and the west. From what was found about the remains and the land shape of the site, this temple probably had a similar arrangement of buildings to that of Shitenno-ji Temple which has Chumon, a tower, Kondo (a main hall), and Kodo Hall (a lecture hall) arranged in a straight line. This site was designated as a National Historic Site on March 1, 1971, because the remains were excellently preserved and an octagonal tower that has been rarely discovered in this country was recognized to have existed, and they are valuable remains of a temple in terms of architectural history. On this occasion, the octagonal stylobate of the tower was reconstructed, and a historic park was built around the remains to preserve them. In 1997, since a private housing development was planned in an area north to this site, another excavation was conducted, when remains of cloisters on the northern border of the temple and of three buildings supported by hottate bashira (earthfast posts) were found, and research that followed recognized that a stylobate of a building to the north of the tower still remained. Since this research clearly uncovered the northern border and those buildings of the temple that had been unclear, the area including these remains were added to the designated Historic Site.
Access
It is three minutes on foot from the 'Sannomiya kaido' bus stop of Kyoto City Bus. It is five minutes on foot from the 'Sannomiya' bus stop of Kyoto City Bus. It is at the 'Shiseki koen mae' bus stop of Kyoto City Bus.