october 2011
Kamakura
Kamakura is a small city just an hour by train south of Tokyo. Perfect for a day trip. The city used to be the capital of Japan for 141 years spanning part of the 12th to 14th century C.E. Kamakura has many temples and is specially important for the introduction of Chinese Chan Buddhism in Japan. Not al temples can be visited in a day but here is a selection that will give you a good impression.
In Kamakura I recommend the following site's:
- • Engaku-ji Temple
- • Tokei-ji Temple
- • Jochi-ji Temple
- • Kencho-ji Temple
- • Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine
- • Kamakura Museum of National Treasures
- • Daibutsu (great Buddha statue)
- • Hase-dera Temple
- • Zuisenji Temple
- • Hokoku-ji temple
- • Myohon-ji Temple
- • Jufuku-ji Temple
Access:
Kamakura is easy to reach by Japan Rail from Tokyo. It takes About 1 hour. You can choose to exit at Kita-kamakura Station (just 3 minutes before reaching Kamakura main station). From Kita-Kamakura station you can start your walk gradually to the city center while visiting the temples.
- Tokyo Main station --> Kita-Kamakura
- • JR Yokosuka line
- Tokyo Shinjuku station --> Kita-Kamakura
- • JR Shonan-Shinjuku line (for Zushi)
Getting Around:
• Walk
• Hiking
• Bicycle
Kamakura Rental Cycles (Take the east exit of JR Kamakura Station and go 50m south.) T: +81 0467-24-2319 open 08:30-17.00 daily, closed Jan 1-3. This rental shop has standard Japanese bicycles for rent, including battery-assisted bikes.
• Bus
Main sights (for a one day walk around) :
Daibutsu (great Buddha statue)
The Giant Buddha called Daibutsu in Japanese is without a doubt the biggest asset of Kamakura. The bronze Buddha probably dates from half way the 13th century. However there is no definite historical proof for the date of this particular Buddha.The Buddha originally stood inside a big hall but it was destroyed by a storm in 1334, was rebuilt, and was damaged by yet another storm in 1369, and was rebuilt again. The last building housing the statue was washed away in a tsunami in 1498. Since then, the Great Buddha has stood in the open air.
The statue is approximately 13 meters tall including the base and weighs about 93 tons. The statue is hollow for a small fee you can enter the and have look inside the Buddha.
Engaku-ji Temple
Kita-Kamakura train station is practically on the doorsteps of Engaku-ji it is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan. Engaku-ji Temple is among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the Kamakura Gozan). The entrance is by a path beside a pond which is crossed by a small bridge now cut of by the railway. The bridge over water refers to a Chinese influence in the founding of this temple, you can find the same principals of design at the Forbidden city in Beijing.
Engakuji Temple was established by regent Hojo Tokimune (1251-1284) to propitiate the souls of the dead who were lost during the Mongol Invasions from 1274-1281 as well as serving as a centre from which the influence of Zen could be spread.
Tokimune founded the temple in 1282 and chose the Zen master Sogen Mugaku (1226-1286), who came from Southern China, then under Mongol domination to set up the temple.
Like most temples in Kamakura, the grounds have been ravaged repeatedly by fire, earthquake and tsunami's. Most recently, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 destroyed a number of temple buildings. Most of what can be seen today are reconstructions from that era.
Shinto is the Japanese devotion to invisible spiritual beings and powers. "Shinto spirits" are called kami. They take the form of objects and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Shinto does not have a founder nor sacred scriptures and precedes Buddhism.
A Shinto shrine is a building whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami. Buddhism and Shintoism coexist and complement each other in Japan. Many religious complexes have both Shinto and Buddhist buildings on there premises.
Zen (Chan) Buddhism was introduced in Japan in the 12th century. Other schools of Buddhism where already settled in Japan introduced via Korea as early as the 6th century. The Zen schools that remain in Japan till today are the Soto, Rinzai, and Obaku.
Despite its popularity in the West, Japanese Zen Buddhism is actually a small movement in Japan itself. Most of Japanese Buddhism is based on the 'Pure Land' variant of Buddhism.
Tokei-ji Temple
Tokei-ji is a Buddhist temple and a former nunnery, the only survivor of a network of five nunneries based in Kamakura. It was founded in 1285.
It is best known as a refuge for women who were abused by their husbands. Tokei-ji allowed women to become officially divorced after staying there for three years.
Behind the temple there's a graveyard where many celebrities are buried, among them two men famous also among European Zen and haikuaficionados,Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki.
Jochi-ji Temple:
The Zen temple was erected in the late 13th century by the wife and son of the Fifth Hojo Regent Tokiyori in order to pray for the repose of his soul. Two Chinese priests (Gottan and Taikyu) where commissioned to build the temple (1215-1289). The structures now standing are all reconstructions.
Kencho-ji Temple:
Kencho-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the Kamakura Gozan) and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. The temple was completed in 1253. It was founded by Rankei Doryu, a Chinese Zen master who moved to Japan in 1246, spending some years in Kyushu and Kyoto before coming to Kamakura
Kencho-ji originally comprised seven main buildings and 49 sub temples, but most of these were destroyed in a series of fires during the 14th and 15th centuries. In the Togukawa Era, however, the Zen master Takuan (1573-1645) succeeded in restoring Kencho-ji to much of its former splendor.
After visiting the main temple you can follow a road behind the temple garden that will have some steep stairs leading up to the Hansobo, the temple's large tutelary Shinto shrine. You can hike all the way up to the hill top and get a very nice view of Kamakura city on a clear day. You can also start the 'Tenen Hiking Course' (approx. one hour) that ends at the Zuisenji Temple.
Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine
The largest Shinto shrine in Kamakura, built by Yoritomo Minamoto (1147-1199) founder of the Kamakura Shogunate and the first Shogun in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333). This Shrine is still very lively with great views over the city toward the sea. Several traditional weddings are taken place at the plaza in front of the main shrine.
Engaku-ji Temple --> Tokei-ji Temple --> Jochi-ji Temple --> Kencho-ji Temple --> Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine --> Kamakura Museum of National Treasures --> Daibutsu (great Buddha statue)
All above temples and the museum can be easily explored leisurely on foot in one day. if you whish to cover more temples in a day you can either use the bus, local train or better rent a bicycle.Additional sights if you have time :
Zuisen-ji Temple:
the temple lies on top of an isolated hill and is famous for both its garden and its Zen rock garden.
Hokoku-ji Temple:
This Zen temple is considerably new in Kamakura as it was built in 1334, a year after the Kamakura Shogunate came to an end. This temple is famous for a beautiful bamboo garden that is laid out behind its main sanctuary. It belongs to the Kenchoji faction of the Rinzai Buddhist sect.
Hase-Dera:
Also known as Hasekannon, which is one of the 'Pure Land Buddhism' Temples in Kamakura. The history of the temple starts at 736 and houses a 9.18m high gilded wooden Buddha statue which is one of the tallest in Japan.
Myohon-ji Temple:
Also known as Hasekannon, which is one of the 'Pure Land Buddhism' Temples in Kamakura. The history of the temple starts at 736 and houses a 9.18m high gilded wooden Buddha statue which is one of the tallest in Japan.
Jufuku-ji Temple:
Jufukuji Temple is the number three of Kamakura's five great Zen temples. It is a branch temple of the Rinzai sect's Kenchoji school.
Jufukuji was established by the order of Minamoto Yoritomo's wife Masako after her husband had passed away. Its founding priest was nobody less than Eisai, the man responsible for introducing Zen Buddhism into Japan. Besides the often photographed pathway that leads towards the temple, Jufukuji is not open to the public.
In 1185, the Minamoto family took over the control over Japan and Minamoto Yoritomo was appointed shogun in the year 1192 and established a new government, the Kamakura Bakufu.
After Yoritomo's death in 1199. The Hojo regents in Kamakura achieved complete control over Japan in 1221 when Kamakura defeated the Imperial army in Kyoto.
Chinese influence continued to be relatively strong during the Kamakura period. New Buddhist sects were introduced: the Zen sect (introduced 1191) found large numbers of followers among the samurai, which were now the leading social class. Another new Buddhist sect, the Lotus Sutra sect was founded in 1253 by Nichiren.
Confucian values such as the importance of loyalty to the master where also introduced under Hojo rule in an attempted to suppress a decline of morals and discipline.
By 1259, the Mongol Kublai Khan, ruler of China was ready to attack Japan.The first Mongol invasion attempt in 1274 was on the island of Kyushu. However, the large naval invasion fleet, was forced to pull back because of bad weather conditions.
The Japanese were able to maintain a strong defence for several weeks during a second invasion attempt which occurred in 1281. Again the Mongols were forced to withdraw mainly because of bad weather. The Mongols soon had too many problems on the mainland in order to mount a third invasion.
The threat of Mongol invasion and defence preparations were fatal to the Kamakura government finances.
By 1333 the power of the Hojo regents had declined to such a degree that the emperor Go-Daigo was able to restore imperial power to Kyoto and overthrow the Kamakura Bakufu.