Kamakura Daibutsu
I envy the Japanese for their holidays. In Japan, there are many days deemed worthy of celebrating, when work and school are canceled. There is nearly one holiday a month, if not more – in all, there are about fifteen holidays where everyone has the day off, compared to six in the US. Some of these days include Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day, Health and Sports Day, Culture Day. If only we could come up with similar holidays back home (like, say, Bird Day – the birds never get enough honor), I think everyone would be a lot happier.
But to the point: in Japan, two holidays fall during the second-to-last week in September (known as Silver Week), Respect for the Aged Day and the Autumnal Equinox. These two free days made it the perfect time for Trevor’s mom to visit, as Trevor would only have to take a couple days off work and still have the whole week to show her Japan.
Because Aomori is rather limited in its places of interest, after showing her around here for a day, we took her Kamakura, a city on the ocean about an hour away from Tokyo. Kamakura was the seat of power in Japan in the 13th and 14th centuries, and because of this medieval history it is home to many remarkable temples, shrines, and sites, some nearly one-thousand years old. Though the weather was rather rainy, windy and cold due to a hurricane that parked itself off the coast of Japan, we still found the city to be lovely – elegant, streamlined, soothing, perfectly personifying the Zen Buddhism of its many temples.
I want to go over all the wonderful things we saw in Kamakura. But because travelogues are boring and probably not very interesting to anyone but the travelers and their parents (who are obligated to read and enjoy), to make the reading more pleasurable I have set the list of my favorite sights in Kamakura to The Sound of Music‘s “My Favorite Things.” Please hum along.
My Favorite Kamakura Things:
Big Giant Buddhas and Small Jizo Statues,
Cave shrine and hill shrine surrounded by Tengus,
Ofuna Kannonji and the peace that she brings,
These are my favorite Kamakura things.
Well. It’s safe to say we all enjoyed that. But for those who may want to learn a bit more about Kamakura, I’ll go into a little more detail.
Daibutsu
Daibutsu: Kamakura is probably most famous for its Daibutsu, literally “Big Buddha,” an outdoor statue of a seated Buddha that is nearly 44 feet tall and was built in 1252. It is striking and lovely, with its imposing presence, serene expression, and green, aged bronze coating. We spent a long time becoming acquainted with him - circling him, taking pictures from all angles, and we even climbed inside. Though we visited many interesting and beautiful places, the Kamakura Daibutsu made the biggest impression on me.
Jizo
Jizo of Hasedera Temple: Hasedera Temple was my favorite of the temples we visited, and while it had many beautiful features (like the Buddha with eleven heads, whose picture we unfortunately weren’t allowed to take), I was most moved by the rows and rows of Jizo statues. As I mentioned in one of my first posts, Jizo are meant to protect the souls of children. I love their sweet faces and small stature, and seeing many of them in one place was touching and lovely. I like how there are many different depictions of Jizo, – within Hasedera Temple there were three or four different styles of Jizo. I love the Jizo.
Carving in cave wall
Cave Shrine in Hasedera Temple: Like I’ve mentioned before, one of my favorite things about Japan is the treasures waiting to be found in the most secret places. In Hasedera Temple, for instance, there is a shrine hidden away in a cave. Called benten kutsu cave and dedicated to the sea goddess, it is dark, lit only with candles, and one must duck through low tunnels to come out the other side. Statues of the sea goddess and other images are carved into the cave walls. When looking at the mouth of the cave from outside, you would never guess what it contains. I also love how shrines are often found on temple grounds. Shrines are places of worship for Shintoism and temples are centers for Buddhism, yet the religions coexist in Japan, side-by-side. Can you image in America, having a mosque in the yard of a church?
Tengu on hillside
Hansobo Shrine with Tengu: Just as benten kutsu cave is in the grounds of Hasedera Temple, Hansobo Shrine overlooks and protects Kenchoji Temple. Kenchoji, one of the five great temples of Kamakura, is beautiful, clean, and peaceful. It is perhaps best known for its emaciated Buddha statue, but I most loved Hansobo shrine on the outskirts of the grounds. The shrine stands high on a hill, and to get to it we climbed many steep flights of stairs. At the top of these winding stairs sits the shrine, surrounded by statues of Tengu, mythical Japanese creatures that look like little men with beaks and wings. It was a lovely surprise to reach the top of the stairs, breathless and tired, and be greeted by these little goblin creatures. The view from the top was magnificent as well – we could see over the temple, the woods, the town, all the way to the ocean.
View of Kannonji from train station
Ofuna Kannonji: As soon as we arrived in Kamakura and exited the train station next to our hotel, we were greeted with the brilliant white head of a woman jutting out of a hill in the distance. Upon further inquiry, we discovered it was the Ofuna Kannonji, a giant statue of a bodhisattva that symbolizes peace and mercy, built in the mid-20th century. Her base contains stones from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, sites of the atomic bomb attacks. Like many sites in Japan, she is reached only by many flights of stairs, and it was a joy to see her sweet face beaming on us as we climbed up and up.
There you have it, my Kamakura highlights. For such a small town, it contains quite a lot of history and remarkable sites. It was a great place to spend a short vacation. And, because this is Japan, there is of course a holiday to look forward to in October (Health and Sports Day – I think you’re supposed to devote the day to exercise or something). I couldn’t think of a more perfect time for Trevor to take me to Nagano to see the monkeys in hot springs. Hmmmm, Dolly? Then I could make up a song about that, too!
And, more Jizo pictures. Because I love the Jizo.
