Mutsu Kokubun-niji is a Buddhist temple in Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai, Japan, belonging to the Sōtō Zen sect, and is the is the provincial convent ("kokubun-niji") of former Mutsu Province. The grounds of the temple are a National Historic Site.HistoryThe Shoku Nihongi records that in 741, as the country recovered from a smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and convent be established in every province, the.In the late Nara period, after the establishment of a centralized government under the Ritsuryō system, the Yamato court sent a number of military expeditions to what is now the Tōhoku region of northern Japan to bring the local Emishi tribes under its control. After the establishment of Taga Castle, Yamato forces gradually pushed into the hinterland of what is now Miyagi Prefecture, establishing several fortified settlements along with several large-scale Buddhist temples. The Mutsu Kokubun niji was located approximately 700 meter east of the Mutsu Kokubun-ji and 10 kilometers from Taga Castle. The original design of the temple is unknown, but excavations in 1964 revealed the foundation stones of at least eight structures, along with roof tiles and fragments of Sue ware pottery.

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