Tokyo's lost temple - Kokubunji
In the 8th century, an area of Tokyo belonged to the “district of Musashi,” a distant eastern region from the capital. The government was established at Nara at that time, and it aimed at a centrally administered state like China. Therefore, the emperor decided to build temples called Kokubunji and Kokubunniji(convent) in all districts in Japan. In Musashi, sacred buildings were built in the western suburb, the center of the region in those days. Now that the temples had been lost for an extended period, they were excavated and preserved as an archaeological site. Although residential houses now surround the advanced area in the old days, you can stare the foundation stones of the temples, fancying their glory days. Springwater was flowing to a stream nearby in the same way as it was 1300 years ago.
