is an old

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in the

Kenchō-ji Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the ''Kamakura Gozan'') and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan.English pamphlet ...

school of the

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan E ...

sect of

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

located in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

, Japan. Famous for its bamboo garden, it is also known as "Bamboo Temple". A statue of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

, called ''Shaka Nyorai'' in Japanese, in a sacred hall is the temple's principal image. The original of a statue of '' Sho Kan'non'' is on display at the Kamakura Museum of National Treasures. The temple is sometimes called ''Takuma-dera'' after the artist of a statue of ''

Kashyap The Kashyap Rajput or Kashyap are a caste in India. They are sometimes called the Koshyal or Kanshilya. History ''Kashyap'' is originally one of the eight primary gotras (clans) of the Brahmins, being derived from Kashyapa, the name of a rishi ...

'' which was destroyed by a fire in 1891 in an adjacent hall. The temple is No. 10 on the Kamakura 33 Kannon pilgrimage. The grounds cover approximately .

History

The family temple of both the

Ashikaga Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...

and

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branch ...

s, Hōkoku-ji was established by founding priest Tengan Eko in 1334 (the first year of the

Kenmu was a Japanese era name of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after '' Shōkei'' and before '' Ryakuō.'' Although Kemmu is understood by the Southern Court as having begun at the same time, the era was construed t ...

era) to commemorate

Ashikaga Ietoki Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...

, grandfather of

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

the first ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' of the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establ ...

.. Known posthumously by his Buddhist name Butsujo ''Zenji'', Eko was a member of the Five Mountains Zen literary school. Copies that he made of Buddhist teachings and carved wooden

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

of his names "Tengan" and "Eko" are Important Cultural Properties and are in the Kamakura Museum on the grounds of the

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrine Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Other treasures owned by the temple include a painting on silk of Zaichū Kōen dating to 1388, a Muromachi-period painting of

Arhats In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

, and a pair of paintings of flowers and birds from

Ming China The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

, all Prefectural Cultural Properties kept in the same museum; a number of further works have been designated for protection at a municipal level. Ashes of the Ashikaga family including Ietoki and Yoshihisa who both died by ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'' (Yoshihisa was only age 13), are reportedly buried in the large

caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

at the temple's west side. The

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

destroyed most of the temple structures including the original straw roof on the main hall. A similar roof is maintained on the bell tower today. Most of the temple structures were rebuilt. Near the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, five-tier memorial towers called ''

gorintō ("five-ringed tower") is a Japanese type of Buddhist pagoda believed to have been first adopted by the Shingon and Tendai sects during the mid Heian period. It is used for memorial or funerary purposesKōjien Japanese Dictionary and is therefore ...

'' commemorate the thousands of warriors who were killed in the 1333 battle in Kamakura that marked the end of rule by the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...

Bamboo grove

A former annex behind the main hall was a training area where Butsujo ''Zenji'' also wrote poetry. Today a grove or forest of about 2000 mōsō bamboo sits in place of the annex. The site has a small

tea house A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

chashitsu ''Chashitsu'' (, "tea room") in Japanese tradition is an architectural space designed to be used for tea ceremony (''chanoyu'') gatherings. The architectural style that developed for ''chashitsu'' is referred to as the ''sukiya'' style (''suk ...

that is popular with tourists.

Gallery

File:Kamakura Takedera 01.jpg, Temple structures File:Hokokuji Belltower Kamakura.jpg, The bell tower with its straw roof File:Hokokuji Bamboo Forest Kamakura.jpg, Stone lantern in the bamboo forest File:Kamakura Takedera 03.jpg, Grove of mōsō bamboo File:InsideHokokuji-kamakura-2007527.webm, (video) Inside the bamboo forest

References

External links

''Kamakura Trip'' website
"Houkokuji Temple" page (in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hokoku-Ji Buddhist temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa

History

Bamboo grove

Gallery

See also

References

External links