My Camwhoring Adventure In Hasedera Temple

~ a continuation from the first part ~

Being one of the places where the influence of Buddhism is much stronger than the native religion of Shinto, it made our stop at Kamakura filled with visits to quite a number of Buddhist temples and shrines. Our next stop at Kamakura was Hasedera Temple, located in the proximity to the train station where we were greeted with an interesting walkway across the railway upon our arrival there.

Main gate and the red lantern; but visitors enter the temple through a public entrance beside this gate.

According to legend, in 721 A.D. the pious monk Tokudo Shonin discovered a large camphor tree in the mountain forests near the village of Hase in the Nara region. He realised the trunk of the tree was so large that it provided enough material for carving two statues of the eleven-headed Kannon. The statue he commissioned to be carved from the lower part of the trunk was enshrined in Hasedera Temple near Nara; the statue from the upper half, in which is the larger of the two, was thrown into the sea near present-day Osaka with a prayer that it would reappear to save the people. Fifteen years later in 736 A.D. on the night of June 18, it washed ashore at Nagai Beach on the Miura Peninsula not far from Kamakura, sending out rays of light as it did. The statue was then brought to Kamakura and a temple was constructed to honour it.

Since time immemorial, Hasedera Temple has been known as the 4th station among the 33 holy places in the Kanto area.

The main building that houses the statue of Hase Kannon.

The magnificent statue of Hase Kannon is housed here for all to see and worship. It is 9.18 meters tall and has eleven heads in addition to its main one: three in front, three to the left and three to the right, plus one at the top and another on back. Each face has different expression, signifying that the deity listens to the wishes of all types of people. Hase Kannon is unique in that it holds a staff made of tin in its right hand and a vase of lotus flowers in its left. Gold leaf was applied to the statue in 1342 at the request of Ashikaga Takauji and in 1392, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had the halo added.

Hase Kannon inside Kannon-do Hall.

Although Kannon is usually described in English as "the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy", strictly speaking, it is neither masculine nor feminine. Kannon is Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (a Bodhisattva is a future Buddha), destined for enlightenment who has vowed to save all sentiment beings and represents compassion, mercy and love.

Next to Kannon-do Hall is a building where a golden seated statue of Yakuyoke (Protector from Evil Spirits) Amida Buddha, one of Kamakura's six principal statues of Amida, is enshrined. In 1194, Minamoto Yoritomo, the first shogun of Japan commissioned this statue that measures 2.8 meters in height, excluding its large halo.

Yakuyoke Amida Buddha

Halfway down the steps to the lower level is a small building, in which Fukuju Jizo, or "Happy" Jizo is enshrined.

Surrounding the Hall are thousands of little Jizo stone statues standing in long rows, some wearing bibs or knitted caps and festooned with cute charms. The statues are there to comfort the souls of unborn children. Jizo-Bosatsu is a Bodhisattva possessing.

I was so tempted to take one of these back home.

On the far side of the upper level is a platform overlooking Yuigahama/Zaimokuza Beach and Sagami Bay with Zushi Marina and the Miura Peninsula in the distance. There are picnics tables for the comfort of visitors there. It was early spring when we were there and the weather was still relatively cold although we saw the blue sky and the sun was shining brightly that day. We took a time-out at the platform while camwhoring a little bit.

Wearing sunnies in spring? This guys is damn weird.

This temple centres on a small Japanese gardens decorated with a variety of flowers around its surrounding. There were cherry blossom and peach blossoms among others, blooming at its peak time, which certainly made it a beautiful sight while we were spending our time there.

In the middle of the gardens, there is a pond called Hojo-ike pond that has a lot of huge Japanese carps.

We continued our walk around and decided to have another rest camwhoring session after we saw a red Japanese traditional umbrella connected onto a wooden chair. My reckoning tells me that that bence, which has bushes of bamboos in the background is provided for the elderly to take some rest. Instead, it was this two dude who ended up on the bench.

Mingrong will never miss out on posing with his "peace" sign.

Y'know what? Suddenly, I realised that I am posting up so many pictures of myself in this entry, although I have said that I will lessen on it this time around. Before we went into any hall of statues again, we tracked up a slope and at the highest point (which was not high at all), this is what we saw.

On the way down, there were rows of carved stone statues like the one we saw earlier. However, the sizes of these statues were much bigger.

Anyway, across that Japanese garden is housed an image of Daikokuten. It is a replice of the original one in the Homotsu-kan Museum which was carved in 1412, making it the oldest image of its type in Kanagawa prefecture. Daikokuten is one of the Seven Japanese Gods of Good Fortune, He is considered the god of wealth (or more specifically the harvest), or of the household, particularly the kitchen. Recognised by his wide face and beaming smile, he is often portrayed holding a golden mallet and standing or sitting on bales of rice.

As what is written on the small board below the statue, it was stated there, asking visitors to feel free and touch it to gain good fortunes. Knowing that, I spent one-long hour sitting there and continued touching that statue non-stop, because I am kiasu and I wanted to get all the good fortunes from this statue took a few touches on it too. However this time, I did not do something silly on the statue like what I did last summer.

Come, come and raba me lah!

I got out from that little building and came across a pair of huge concrete foot-steps just opposite of it. I straight away camwhored with it, without even knowing a single thing about its significance. Sounds like a person in great desperation to camwhore, no?

On the other side of the temple is Benten-kutsu Cave where Benzaiten and 16 children are chiselled out of the rock walls. Benzaiten is a sea goddess and the only female among the Seven Gods of Japan. Her temples and shrines are located near water - the sea, a river or a pond. She is the patron of music, the fine arts and good fortune in general and usually carries a biwa (Japanese mandolin) or plays a lute.

How the interior of the Benten-kutsu Cave looks like.

The interior of the cave was dark and the ceiling was so low that I had to bend my body in almost all parts of the cave and it was not comfortable at all to be in that position. That is why when I came out from the cave, I felt something was not right. I was walking in a weird body posture. That was when I realised that I was diagnosed with first degree of osteoporosis.

Well, that is just an excuse to camwhore for the last time in this entry.

~ to be continued ~

Kamakura And My Lost Backpack

Kamakura is a coastal town, located in Kanagawa prefecture and is accessible under one hour from Tokyo. Kamakura became the political center of Japan in 1192 and the government continued to rule Japan for over a century. After the decline of the Kamakura government in the 14th century and the establishment of its successor, Kamakura remained the political center of Eastern Japan for some time before losing its position to other cities.

Today, Kamakura is a very popular tourist destination. Sometimes called the Kyoto of Eastern Japan, Kamakura offers numerous temples, shrines and other historical monuments. In addition, Kamakura's sand beaches attract large crowds during the summer months. In other words, Kamakura can be considered the Malacca of Japan, although the old city of Kyoto may have a stronger claim on that.

There is one interesting fact about the train in Kamakura. Considering that it is a small town built in a limited piece of land, it is not unusual to see the railway lines spread through the middle of the town. There was one train station in which the passengers were required to walk across the railway track to exit the train station. I know this could be a common thing in the countryside area of Japan, nevertheless it was my first encounter with such scene here.

This practice appears to be dangerous but the people have been doing this for years.

Speaking about trains reminded me of my carelessness during my train ride from Oyama to Kamakura earlier that day. There were no trains that provide a direct ride from Oyama to Kamakura and that made us having to exchange trains at a few stations. Trains exchanges is nothing new to me, but something stroke me during one of the exchanges that I forgot to take down my backpack I placed on top of the steel ledge in the train. I guess I should blame nobody but myself because the two of us were chatting away along the journey, which made me totally forgotten about my backpack when I got down. This was my first time making such a simple mistake which would surely lead to lots of troublesome work of tracking back my backpack. That left me cursing myself for a few good moments before I figured out the next thing I was going to do.

The moment I realised that my backpack was left behind, I was not panicked nor got tensed up as much as you would expect me to be, because I trust and understand how things work in Japan. When the thing is not their possession, they will never keep it to themselves but will return it to the authorities no matter how big or small the value of that thing is. Of course I do not rule out some cases when such acts are non-existance. Anyway, the only thing I was able to do is to get down in the next station and inform the station master about my left-behind backpack, hoping that they will recover it and guide me to a particular station to retrieve it back. I know I will get my backpack eventually, but it would be just time wasting and troublesome, which will affect my well-planned itinerary.

However, thank god that my carelessness didn't cost me too much of hassles that day. Lady luck appeared to be smiling at me. It so happened that the train in which my backpack was left behind stopped at the same station that the exchange train I took. So, instead of informing the station master, there was still a slight chance that I would be able to get to that first train and look for my backpack myself first, while at the same time hoping that it will not take off yet for its next ride. Just like what you would have guessed it, one of the cleaners of the train was just going to get his hand on my backpack when I stepped inside one of the coach. I told him what had happened to my backpack and thanked him. Finally, I was reunited with my backpack.

Despite going through such misfortune, the tense moments didn't make me lose my mood to explore Kamakura when I arrived there.

Trishaws for tourist who prefer to explore the town with a guide along the way. Just like in Malacca, they don't come cheap.

From A.D. 1180 to 1333 Kamakura served as the political and cultural centre of all Japan under the capable and enlightened shogunate government. This was also an age of religious flowering, marked by the arrival of Zen from China and the birth of important new native sects as well. As Buddhism in its diverse forms swept into the hearts of the people, temples were built in increasing numbers and with increasingly central roles in everyday life. These various pillars of popular faith and the treasures they embrace have been meticulously preserved in Kamakura through the centuries.

Masks for kids on sale at the entrance of the main shrine of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.

Wakamiya Oji, the broad path leading up to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is lined with cherry trees that burst into glorious bloom each spring.

Dankazura, the principal section of Wakajima Oji.

Forming the historic centre of the city is the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Kamakura's most important shrine.

Camwhoring in front of the main building of the shrine.

Within the expensive precincts of this complex lie a trove of architectural gems from the city’s early years, including the Hongu main shrine and the maiden dance stage. These are complemented by a pair of lotus ponds, a charmingly scenic bridge and the lush trees set off by the surrounding mountains.

One of the section of the shrine.

Various events are held at the shrine throughout the year. During the New Year holidays, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is crowded with over two million visitors - one of the country's most visited shrines, and in April and September, horseback archery known as yabusame is performed on the lane that leads to the shrine's dance stage and main building.

If you still recall my time when I visited Meiji Shrine in Harajuku and getting to witness a fake wedding ceremony, this time I saw a real one held on that maiden dance stage. When I was there, they were performing the tea ceromony which looked similar to Chinese wedding as well. However, the families and relatives attending the ceremony were only limited to closed members, and as far as I could notice, there were only the parents of the bride and bridegroom on the stage. I didn't spend much time witnessing the whole ceremony because the process was just too slow, so slow that I decided to leave for the next stop.

Wedding ceremony on the dance stage.

However, before I left the place, I was fascinated with the huge number of pigeons flying freely at the surroundings of the shrine. Nara and Miyajima may be famous for their deers while Shibuya for their infamous crows but as for Kamakura, it would be pigeons. These pigeon are so tame, but brave enough that they will get close to the visitors who were feeding them with dried corns sold there.

But sometimes, they get too much action in their acts that they would just fly onto the body of the feeder, especially small kids.

I tried to feed the pigeons too. At first they instantly came close to me when I began to squat down but later when they realised I was feeding them with something else, they turned away. Guess what I tried to feed them?

A white piece of map I got from the tourist guide counter which I folded a few times. It made me sound to be the most evil tourist ever.

~ to be continued ~