Kamakura, a small city of temples

Text and pix by Chandani Jayatilleke

Kamakura is a small, historical city, 50 kilometres south of Tokyo, which promises temples, forests, hiking trails, craft shops and a beautiful view of the beach on the Pacific coast. It's a day trip from Tokyo, and takes less than an hour by Shinkansen - the bullet train.

We boarded a train from Tokyo Central and got off at Kita-Kamakura to begin our journey. There were plenty of temples to choose from, but we started with the Kotoku-in Temple.

The biggest draw in Kamakura is undoubtedly Daibutsu - the big bronze Buddha statue on the grounds of the Kotoku-in Temple.

The statue also known as the Amida Buddha (amitbha in Sanskrit) stands at 13.5 metres tall, cast in bronze and weighs around 120 tons.

It is an amazingly beautiful statue, symbolising the perfections of the Buddha - his purity, compassion and wisdom.

A carving of the feet of the Buddha

A child lights incense sticks in front of the Daibutsu

Despite the crowded surroundings, one can totally and easily immerse in the feeling of serenity; there's nothing but peace and quietness in the environment. Historical evidence says it was originally housed in a building with a roof, until a tsunami destroyed the building in 1495, leaving the statue exposed to the elements.

The statue now located in the middle of a courtyard is hollow. Visitors are allowed to enter through the back door for a small fee and we followed the others queuing to enter. One could notice the welding work; and get a better idea on how it had been built.

It is believed the construction work of the Buddha statue began in 1252 and continued for about 10 years.

The costs were met by the priest Joko, who successfully persuaded members of the community to make donations.

Among the records of the temple the name of Hisatomo Tanji appears as a craftsman responsible for the casting of the Daibutsu and a man known as Gorouemon Ohno appears in the temple lore, but the designer of the original model and many other details surrounding the construction remain unknown to this day.

It is thought the hall which houses the Buddha statue was destroyed twice by strong winds and tidal waves in 1334 and 1369. Records are not clear for the intervening period but it was not rebuilt again after the 15th century.

Maple trees

A few feet away from the compound is a wonderful garden area, in which we noticed some maple trees with their leaves just turning bright yellow and orange; a feast for the eye. Kamakura is an ideal place for those who wish to walk, climb thousands of temple steps and catch a glimpse of authentic Japanese lifestyles.

Thousands of visitors throng here - almost every day and we were told it is a popular spot for autumn colours, which usually reach their peak around early December. The temple entrance surrounded by many cherry blossom trees (sakura flowers), is a particularly popular photo object during the flowering season.

Our next stop was Engakuji, one of the five Zen Buddhist temples in the area.

The temple was founded in 1282 by a Chinese Zen monk at the request of the then ruler of Japan, the regent Hj Tokimune after he had repelled a joint Mongolian-Korean invasion in the period 1274 to 1281. Tokimune had a long-standing commitment to Zen and the temple was intended to honour those of both sides who died in the war, as well as serve as a centre from which the influence of Zen could be spread.

Engakuji has two national treasures; the great temple bell and the Shariden shrine. It is a beautifully designed hall in which, the Japanese believe, a tooth of Buddha is enshrined. It is designated a national treasure, but can only be seen from a distance during most of the year.

The site also has a popular tea house, where visitors can enjoy a cup of tea, amazake (sweet sake) or Japanese sweets.Hasedera is another beautiful temple built along the slope of a wooded hill.

To reach there, one has to climb stairs and is quite exhausting. But a visit to this architecturally rich site is well worth. Along the way stands the Jizo-do Hall with hundreds of small statues of the Jizo Bodhisattva. We left Hasedera as darkness fell and walked along with the crowd back to the railway station to catch a train to Tokyo.