Meigutsuin Temple Kamakura Spring 2015

Founded in 1160, Meigetsuin Temple is part of the 

Rinzai Sect of Zen Buddhism.   

Its name means bright moon.  ( 明月院 ).   

In Japanese folklore, if is believed that when we look at the full moon we can see a rabbit pounding mochi (rice cakes), thus rabbits are associated with this temple.   It is also called the Ajisaidera, because of its beautiful hydrangeas.   The temple also has one of the largest Yagura (burial cave) in Kamakura and a garden in the back which is only open twice a year, in the spring when the irises are in the bloom and in the fall when the leaves are changing color.   However, one can catch a glimpse of this garden through a beautiful circular window in the Hojo (main hall).   There is also a small  karesansu (Japanese rock garden) and one of Kamakura's 'celebrated' ten wells.   

Kuzuharagooka-jinja Shrine Kamakura

This shrine, is relatively new, having been ordered to be built by Emporer Meiji in 1887.

In June, I took a walk with a friend to see the ajisai.   Our destination was not this shrine, but when we came across it as we traveled from Kita-Kamakura's Jochiji Temple on the Daibatsu Hiking Course towards Kamakura and the sea, we were truly amazed not only with the ajisai but with the traditions of this shrine which still is active today in hosting neighborhood festivals.   Tradition has it that Toshimo Hino tried several times to lead a revolt against the Kamakura shogunate, only to be captured, released, recaptured and then executed on this site.  His grave is behind the main shrine.

Interestingly this shrine is also famous for lovers to come and make a wish.   Legend has it if they stand opposite each other and touch two rocks tied together with string, they will be married within 24 hours.  There is a small shrine located in back where one can leave a wish where the dragon will take it to the gods.

The ajisai here were stunning.

Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine Kamakura

Yoritomi, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate founded this shrine in 1185 after he was visited in a dream on the seventh day of the snake, in the seventh month and year of the snake by a Shinto deity that told him to purify himself at the stream located here in order to bring peace to the land.   The shinto deity, Ugafukujin,  is part snake and is associated with water, food and wealth.   One of the Buddhist seven lucky gods is Benzaiten who is associated with water, wealth and good fortune. The two legends combined making this a place for both Shinto and Buddhist worship of Uga Benzaiten.   Somehow this Shrine, with its combined Shinto and Buddhist practices, was allowed to continue during the Meiji period, when there was active reforms to split Shinto and Buddhist practices.

Today people still come to this shrine with their money, and I mean lots of money, not just a quarter and some change.   They are given bamboo baskets, in which they place their money and then pour water out of the sacred stream over the money saying a prayer.   The belief is that whatever amount is washed will be doubled in the near future.   I'm still waiting, but always hopeful.

Sasuke Inari Jinja Shrine Kamakura

Fun hiking this past weekend with friends to this interesting shrine founded in 1190 by Yoritomo no Minamoto, the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate in expression of gratitude to the god Inari's help in defeating, Minamoto's rival clan.   Inari, it is often believed comes in the shape of a dog/fox.   

A statue in honor of Yoritomo is not located far from the shrine in Genyiyama Park.

 

Kenchoji - A Bug's Death

My friend and I were hiking from Kenchoji in Kita-Kamakura to Zuisenji in Kamakura when we literally stumbled over a Buddhist ceremony dedicating a monument in memory of insects who have met an untimely death at the hands of humans.   There are multiple beetle sculptures in the park, which has a huge Yagura (burial cave) as a backdrop and a beetle/wire mesh cagelike structure in the center.

We actually participated in the ceremony and were able to make an offering at the altar.   It was such a surprisingly sacred moment.

I took all the photos except for the first one (because I was not going to climb a huge cliff and hang over the side to get the picture.   That photo I took from the Kyodo News.

BBC News from Elsewhere Blog filed this report on June 5, 2015:

A new monument has been built at a temple in Japan in memory of insects which have met an untimely end at the hands of human beings, it's reported.

The monument features a oversized beetle-like creature clambering over a rock, encircled by wire mesh cages. Anatomist Takeshi Yoro is the man behind the idea, driven by a life-long love of bugs, the Kyodo News agency reports. He hopes the monument will console the souls of the insects he has collected, and also send an environmental message. "I hope people will be fully aware what kind of an era it would be without insects," Mr Yoro tells the agency.

The site was inaugurated on Thursday at the Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura, just south of Tokyo. A group of about 50 people joined Mr Yoro at the service, which included a monk reading Buddhist sutras.