Kazusa Kokubun-ji
Overview. The "Shoku Nihongi" records that in 741 AD, as the country recovered from a major smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every province, the . The Kazusa Kokubun-ji was located on the northern bank of the Yōrō River, in an area with a high concentration of "kofun" and ancient sites. The ancient temple is mentioned in historical records to the Oei era (1394-1427), but appears to have fallen into ruin after then. It was revived during the Edo period during the Genroku era (1688-1704) and the current  main hall, a Yakushi-dō, was built in 1716 on the site of the old temple. The temple's Niōmon also dates from the Edo period, but one of the statues within is a survivor from the Nanboku-chō period. Ancient Kazusa Kokubun-ji. The remains of original "kokubunji" overlap with the current temple precincts. The temple area for the ancient Kazusa Kokubun-ji is not square because there are valleys and burial mounds around it. Roughly, it measured 478 meters north-to-south by between 254 meters and 345 meters from east-to-west, for a total area of  139,000 square meters. The inner compound containing the main buildings of the temple was 219 meters north-to-south by 194 meters east-to-west, and unlike other "kokubunji" temples, did not adhere to the standardized layout, but was patterned instead after Daian-ji in Asuka. The site was located in 1929 with the discovery of large number oof roof tiles inscribed "kokubun-ji" in the location. An archaeological excavation in 1966 confirmed the foundation stones for the Kondō, and Lecture Hall, and the middle gate as well as that of a pagoda. From the size of the foundations for  the pagoda, it is estimated that the completed structure was a seven-story building with a height of around 60-meters. The remains of a group of kilns for producing roof tiles were located in a survey conducted in 1974 to the west of the main temple complex. The temple site is located a 15-minute walk from Kazusa-Murakami Station on the Kominato Railway Kominato Line.