Day 19 Kamakura

Our last full day in Japan will be enjoyed walking in Kamakura! Kamakura is only an hour train ride from downtown Tokyo but transports you to another place altogether. Once a political center with rulers from the samurai class including the shogun a variety of culture developed. For about 150 years imitation of Kyoto culture and the culture of court nobility developed but gradually Kamakura’s own culture flourished. This new culture was different from the aristocratic. It was based on Zen and other sects of Buddhism which appealed to both samurai and common people, and was very popular and practical. This characteristic culture is still found in the present-day Kamakura. There remains more than 100 temples in the city and most of them contain images of Buddha which are full of familiarity and expression. These old images of Buddha will rouse in you a different feeling from those of Nara or Kyoto. With so many to see and really so little time we make the Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) our first stop. This statue was made in 1252 and originally was enclosed in a large temple. However when the temple was destroyed by a typhoon and tidal wave in 1495 the Great Buddha appeared sitting in the open-air as he is now. Towering over 37feet high with a gentle face that is about 8 feet this Buddha weighs almost 275,000 pounds and truly is an image not soon forgotten. Next we walk up the hill where we can see the Hase Kan-non the colossal figure of an eleven faced Kannon (Goddess of Mercy), the wooden statue of Muso Kokushi (the founder of Zuisenji temple) which is well known for a great variety of flowers, many surrounding the hundreds of Jizo (the proctor of woman, children and travelers) and walk into the Yagura, square and rectangular caves dug into the hillside rocks. These are graves and cinerary vaults combined, serving also as places for memorial services. Many images of Buddha are carved in the stone walls with believers’ bringing offerings and lighting candles in front of them. Yagura are only seen in Kamakura. Our last stop is Kakuonji Temple which alongside Gokurakuhi Temple is often referred to as a “treasure house of Buddhist sculpture”. Inside we find the huge wooden statue of Yakushi Nyorai belonging to the Shingon sect. There is still so many MANY more to see but our day is coming to an end and so we must say goodbye to Kamakura