Kamakura: Tsuru-ga-oka Hachiman-gu

This Minamoto shrine is crossed into over a Drum bridge between two lotus ponds.  Before you enter you wash your hands and mouth by rinsing with water.  This is to prepare yourself for contemplation of worthy ideas.

 

We were lucky enough to come on a day when families were celebrating a sort of age milestone ceremony.  It happens when children are 1 month, 3, 5, and 7 years.  They wear traditional dress, kimonos, and go to the shrine with their families.

The juxtaposition of the old with the new.

Even modern, camera toting moms can wear kimonos for special occasions!

In an earlier blog I talked about tying off bad fortunes to leave behind and keeping the good.  I saw this repeated in many shrines.

These were special occasion remembrance banners.
 

I wish I could change the opening shot of this picture, not the best freeze!  :)  I learned more later, I actually should have bowed, clapped 2x to get attention, then bowed again.

    

Final Kencho-ji Video

The video was having problems loading so I separated it from the rest.

Kencho-ji (Temple)

There is a basic format for the layout of Zen Buddhist Temples.  They are symmetrical with the most important buildings being in the middle.  They are laid out on a North/South line and are entered into over a bridge symbolically leaving the earthly world to that of Buddha.

Kencho-ji is the foremost of the five great temples of Kamakura and is the oldest Temple in Japan.  The first dojo (school).  It was founded in 1253.

The bell was cast in 1255.

It was amazing hearing and experiencing the Zen meditations.  I wish I'd had more time to listen.  They also burn incense and the smell was great.   

This garden is in the shape of a kanji (character or word in Japanese) that means heart and mind.

We missed the small Toke-ji shrine on our adventures. (There are over 40 shrines in the Kamakura area I had to be choosy and pick a path that would cover the best ones I could!)  It is an interesting story though.  It was founded in 1285 as a refuge for women in unhappy marriages.  It is also known as Enkiri-dera, the divorce temple.  In those days a man could easily divorce his wife by sending her back to her family, but a woman had no choices, no matter how bad her situation was.  However, if she ran away and made it to this temple she was able to stay (receive sanctuary) and become a nun.  After 3 years she was declared divorced.

   

Engaku-ji

As we got off the train in Kita-Kamakura we saw a small cemetery on the hill.  It was a great place to start.  I knew right away that Kamakura was the perfect place to visit.  The cemetery was old and beautiful.  It was clear it was been kept up by family members of others, many of the statues had incense, tea cups, and flowers.

I'm not sure of the reason for the "bibs."  I would like to find out the significance because I have seen them in several places.  

Then we continued on to our first scheduled stop Engaku-ji Temple.  This is the largest Zen Buddhist Monastery was ranked second in the Go-zan, a ranking system for monasteries.  It was built in 1282.  The complex once had 50 buildings but now has 18.  It was a very large area.  I was surprised how long we spent there.

This is a working monastic center, so you can see monks sweeping, pruning, and doing other tasks around the complex as you walk around.

The "Hall of the Holy Relic of Buddha" is supposed to hold a tooth of Gautama Buddha.

Another national treasure is the Great Bell (Kosho) on top of a hill.  It was cast in 1301 and is 8 feet tall.  Normally, you can enjoy tea at the top for refreshment after the long hike up.  However, we were too early.  I guess the early bird gets the great views with no crowds, but not the tea!