Namu Amida Butsu - Adoration be to Budha Amitabha

Two views of the Hasedera Temple where Hase Knnon is worshipped.

As usual, Saurav did all the research and came up with the travel plan to Kamakura and Enoshima.

Kamakura was the Capital of Japan during 12th to 14th Century. Kamakura is a temple town with many important Budhist temples spread over the small town.

We took the train to Kamakura from  Yokohama by around noon. Being a holiday the town was overflowing with people.

There was a large que to the Kamakura temple and we decided that it will take hours before we could enter and it is better to skip Kamakura and proceed to Hase where the "Daibutsu" or the great Buddha of Kamakura is located.

Meanwhile it was 1.30 and we went into the T Side restauruant for an Indian Lunch. We did see another Indian restauraunt, Mony's by the side of the main temple, but Saurav preferred T side because they had Dosa!

The Chef was from Chennai, but spoke Malayalm as well. He fed us Masala Dosa and Rice with Rasam, Sambar and curry, all hot and steaming. We enjoyed the meal very much.

After the meals, we returned to Kamakura station and went to the Enoden line platform. There was a huge crowd waiting for the train. We did not get the first train, but managed to get into the second one. It was like the locals in Mumbai. People literally standing on each others toes. We were afraid whether we will be able to get out at Hase. Luckily half the crowd got down at Hase and we too. It was a short walk to the Kotokuin Temple. We paid the small fee to enter the temple premises and went into the temple. The view was impressive.

The Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu) is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which stands on the grounds of Kotokuin Temple. With a height of 13.35 meters, it is the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, surpassed only by the statue in Nara's Todaiji Temple.

The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were destroyed multiple times by typhoons and a tidal wave in the 14th and 15th centuries. So, since 1495, the Buddha has been standing in the open air.

We went around taking pictures. I noticed that many small statues in the temple premises are of Hindu Gods and goddesses and the way of offering prayers also was very similar with bowed head and clasped palms. They even beat their cheks as some do in our temples and offer coins too.

This is the incense box infront of the statue and as you can see, the engraved goddesses in the Lotus are much similar to Goddess Saraswati! Even the main diety inside a side temple is called "Kannon" കണ്ണന്‍ in Malayalam!

We went inside the statue. It was noted there that the statues was made in 32 pieces and joined together. The joints are so good that it do not leak even now.

Next we moved to the great Hase Kannon temple (there again കണ്ണന്‍ ) called Hasedera. 

Hasedera is a temple of the Jodo sect, that is most famous for its statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The statue shows Kannon with eleven heads (Dasavatharam + 1?), each representing a characteristic of the goddess. The 9.18 meter tall, gilded wooden statue is regarded as the largest wooden sculpture in Japan, and can be viewed in the temple's main building, the Kannon-do Hall.

Hasedera is built along the slope of a wooded hill. A pretty garden with ponds is found at the base of the slope just after entering. The temple's main buildings are built further up the slope, reached via stairs. Along the way stands the Jizo-do Hall with hundreds of small statues of the Jizo Bodhisattva who helps the souls of dead children to reach the paradise.

 

 (The photo above is from Japan tourism and not by me).
Next to the Kannon-do Hall stands the Amida-do Hall, which exhibits an almost three meter tall golden statue of Amida Buddha. Nearby is also an observation deck with views over the coastal city of Kamakura and a small restaurant where Japanese sweets such as mitarashi dango, small rice flour dumplings covered with a sticky sauce made of sugar and soya sauce, and other meals, snacks and beverages are served.

Next to the temple garden at the base of the slope stands the Benten-do, a small hall that contains a figure of Benten (also known as Benzaiten), a goddess of feminine beauty and wealth. Sculptures of Benten and other minor gods can be found in a small cave (Benten-kutsu) next to the Benten-do.

 The temple was great and inside the decorations on the very large diety was quite impressive. However photgraphy was not allowed.

Because it was winter, they close up early and we could not visit the caves within the premises.

We said Sayanora to the beutiful disciples of the temple and left for Enoshima.

O-shogatsu, Hatsumoude and Hakone ekiden

"O-shogatsu" is the New Year holidays in Japan and one usually observed enthusiastically. Our office closed on 29th December afternoon and will reopen on 5th January only. It is very rare to see Japanese taking such long breaks.
On 3rd of January, Osawa san invited me to join him and Subbarayan san for a trip to Tokyo. After some misadventures, a visit to Sogo store and a cup of Indian Tea at Nirvana Spice Cafe in the Yokohama station 6th floor, we finally started our journey at 12.45 from Yokohama.

When we arrived in Shibakoen station and emerged into the streets, there were large crowds lining up the roads and cheering runners on the road. Osawa san told us it is the Hakone Ekiden race Tokyo's Otemachi business district and the spa resort of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture, a distance of 217.9 km. While we were there, Ryo Takami of Toyo University won the race in 11 hrs, 10 min and 13 seconds.

"Hatsumoude" is the Japanese tradition of offering prayers for the first time in the New Year. Osawa san guided me and Subbarayan san to the shrine called Zojoji in Tokyo to witness the rush of people coming there to offer Hatsumode. Zojoji Temple is the chief temple of the Jodo-Buddist sect. It was originally founded in 1393.

The Sanmon, the main gate to the Zojoji Temple, seen above, was built in 1605. It is constructed in a Chinese Tang Dynasty style and is a rare example of early Edo-period architecture. (The Edo period, or Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era).


There were hundreds of people arriving to the temple to offer Hatsumoude. We went inside with them. What greeted us was the breathtaking view of a golden shrine with the priest chanting prayers.

People were seen putting money into the collection box and offering prayers in Indian style with both their hands held together.
When we got out of the shrine we found people writing their wishes and tying it to a pine tree. Like in Hindu custom, their was a fire burning in the courtyard.

We moved on and saw rows of small doll like statues lined in rows on one side of the courtyard.

We were told that these are statues of "jizobosatusu", the protector of the souls of stillborn children and the Buddhist equivalent of an angel. Mothers who have lost an unborn child may dedicate an image of the deity and decorate it with baby clothes and toys.
We then went on to the nearby Tokyo Tower, which is the tallest self-supporting steel structure in the world at 332.5 meters / 1091 ft (ahead of Eiffel tower which is 320 m).

After waiting in the Que for an hour, we went up to the main observation floor, but the atmosphere was cloudy and the view was not so good. On the way down, we ate lunch from Tokyo Curry lab on the 2nd floor of the Tower - Chicken curry and rice!

After that we walked to the JR line station and went on to Akihabara, the electronic shopping district.


Couple of hour of window shopping and some shopping, we were tired and got back into the train to Yokohama. After saying good bye to Osawa san and Subbarayan san, I went back into the 6th floor of Sogo and bought the Hina dolls form the traditionally dressed Japanese lady.