Kamakura, Japan

I’m way behind on posting blogs.  Dan and I went to Japan the week before the kids came to visit.  Needless to say I didn’t get any posts done while they were here.  And since then, well, I just don’t have any excuses.  So here’s the long overdue post on Kamakura.

Dan’s colleague, Kumiko Ota, and her husband were gracious enough to take us to Kamakura during our visit to Japan.  Kamakura is a little over an hour away by train southwest of Tokyo.  Located on the ocean, Kamakura was the capital of Japan’s first military government, the Kamakura Shogunate from 1185 to 1333.  It has been the center for Zen Buddism for hundreds of years and is know for it’s multitude of temples and shrines.

Kumiko and Takeshi first took us to a Shinto Temple where we had a vegetarian lunch prepared by the staff.  Shinto priests are allowed to marry and the priests sometimes stay at temple through many generations.

Next we went to Hase-Dera Temple that overlooks the sea and houses a statue of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.  Built in the 12th century, the temple also has a cave that contains a statues of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan.

We also visited the Giant Buddha that is over 1200 years old.  A 15th century tsunami destroyed the temple that once housed the Great Buddha, but the statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since.You can go in the Buddha and climb to the top, similar to the Statue of Liberty.   

Our final stop in Kamakura was Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shinto Shrine.   Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, built the shrine in 1191 and invited Hachiman, the god worshipped popularly among warriors, to reside there and guard his government. Cherry trees line the avenue to the shrine. The trees were ordered by Yoritomo as a prayer for the safe delivery of his first-born son.  The cherry trees were just beginning to bloom when we were there and it was quite lovely.  We were fortunate enough to see a traditional wedding procession.

As in almost all Shinto shrines all across Japan, Omikuji can be found. Omikuji are a written predictions about a person's near future. They give general advice about things like which direction is best, travel, business and illness. They are usually left out in a wooden box near the shrine with a sign stating how much for one. After paying, you unroll the folded paper and take a look at your fortune. Fortunes are divided into different levels of luck and misfortune. If you don’t like your fortune, you simply tie the paper to the strings hung at the shrine so the wind can blow the bad luck away.