Kiyohira, who had been forced into bloody battles and lost his family in the war, resolved to bring peace to the region based on an ideal society following the teachings of Buddha.

Per the Azuma Kagami (the official history of the Kamakura shogunate) the temple contained more than 40 halls and pagodas, and over 300 monks' residences.

Kiyohira's son Fujiwara no Motohira continued this plan, and commissioned his own great temple, Mōtsū-ji, nearby.

The Konjiki-dō (金色堂) is a small building completed in 1124, which still conveys an image of what Chūson-ji looked like in its prime.

Inside, the decorations use mother-of-pearl inlays, woodwork, metalwork, lacquerwork and paintings, bringing together many aspects of late Heian period arts and crafts[3] It is one of two buildings that survive from the original Chūson-ji temple complex, the other being a sutra repository.

The building also serves as a mausoleum containing the mummified remains of the leaders of the Northern Fujiwara clan.

Today it sits behind thick acrylic glass within a concrete building (constructed in 1965) and is visible only from the front and sides.