Townscape of Taiheiji

The ruins of Chishiki-ji Temple are situated within the grounds of Iwa Shrine. The temple was founded in the 7th century by a group of devout Buddhists called Chishiki (wisdom) who provided assets and labor to build temples and Buddhist statues. As recorded in "Shoku Nihongi," a history text completed at the end of the 8th century, the emperor at the time was so impressed by the magnificence of the Vairocana Buddha statue of Chishiki-ji Temple that it led to the construction of the famous giant Buddha statue of Todai-ji Temple. While they are no longer in existence, it is presumed that there were temple grounds about 120 square meters consisting of the east pagoda, west pagoda, inner gate, main hall and lecture hall, and the pagodas are believed to have been 50 meters high and five stories.

Grapes are one of the specialties of Kashiwara City. From the late 19th century, the city has been one of the largest producers of grapes in Japan, and by the beginning of the 20th century, the wine brewing industry also flourished. Said to be the oldest winery in western Japan, Katashimo Winery's grape storehouse was built in the Taisho Era (1912-1926) and is a registered National Tangible Cultural Property. It is still in use. Visitors can tour the winery and vast vineyard spread across a large part of the Taiheiji district. In the tasting room on the second floor of the storehouse, learn about the history of winemaking from the exhibition of old brewing equipment and enjoy winetasting in the museum-like atmosphere.