Hase-dera (Kaiko-zan Jisho-in Hase-dera), commonly called the Hase-kannon is
one of the Buddhist temples in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture,
Japan.
The temple originally belonged to the Tendai sect of Buddhism, but eventually
became an independent temple of the Jodo-shu.
The main statue of Kannon is one of the largest wooden statues in Japan, with
a height of 9.18 metres (30.1 ft). It is made from camphor wood, with gold
gilding. It has 11 heads, each of which represents a different phase in the
search for enlightenment.
|
Kamakura Hase-dera Temple map.
The temple sits about half-way up Mount Kamakura, southwest of the city
of Kamakura. The temple commands an impressive view over Yuigahama.
Seven buildings make up the temple complex.
-
The temple is the fourth of the 33 stations of two different
pilgrimage routes: 1) Bando Sanjusankasho pilgrimage circuit dedicated
to the goddess Benzaiten, 2) Kanto Pilgrimage.
|
|
Main Gate (Sanmon).
The gate is the forth largest of its kind in Kamakura.
-
A symbolic large red lantern and gate-shading pine tree welcome the
visitors.
|
|
Kannon and Jizo statues.
Fudarakusan-ji name refers to Mount Potalaka, the mythical home of the
goddess Kannon, to whom this temple is dedicated.
-
It is believed to have been founded in the 4th century by Ragyō
Shōnin, a monk from India.
-
Guanyin (Chinese: Kuan-yin; Japanese: Kannon; Korean: Gwan-eum;
Vietnamese: Quan Am) is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She
is the East Asian representation of Avalokitesvara.
-
Ksitigarbha (Chinese: Dizang; Japanese: Jizo; Korean: Jijang;
Vietnamese: Dia Tang, Tibetan: sa yi snying po) is a bodhisattva
primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a
Buddhist monk.
-
See more at
Guanyin - Wikipedia
and
Kṣitigarbha - Wikipedia.
|
|
Fudo Myoo statue (Acala).
Fudo Myoo (Acala), was never popular in Indian, Tibetan or even Chinese
Buddhism, but in Japan it became the object of a flourishing cult with
esoteric overtones.
-
The cult of Acala was first brought to Japan by the esoteric master
Kūkai, the founder of the Shingon school, and his successors, where it
developed as part of the growing popularity of rituals for the
protection of the state.
-
While Acala was at first simply regarded as the
primus inter pares among the five wisdom kings, he gradually
became a focus of worship in his own right, subsuming characteristics
of the other four vidyarajas (who came to be perceived as
emanating from him), and became installed as the main deity
(honzon) at many temples and outdoor shrines.
-
Acala, as a powerful vanquisher of evil, was regarded both as a
protector of the imperial court and the nation as a whole (in which
capacity he was invoked during state-sponsored rituals) and the
personal guardian of ritual practitioners.
-
At temples dedicated to Acala, priests perform the Fudo-ho, or ritual
service to enlist the deity's power of purification to benefit the
faithful. This rite routinely involves the use of the Homa fire ritual
(goma) as a purification tool.
-
See more at
Acala - Wikipedia.
|
|
Entrance to Benzaiten Grotto (Benten Kutsu).
The cave, called Benzaiten Grotto (Benten Kutsu), contains a long
winding tunnel with a low ceiling and various statues and devotionals to
Benzaiten, the sea goddess and the only female of the Seven Lucky Gods
in Japanese mythology.
|
|
Benzaiten Statue.
Benzaiten (lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten, is
a Japanese Buddhist goddess who originated mainly from Saraswati, the
Hindu goddess of speech, the arts, and learning, with certain traits
deriving from the warrior goddess Durga.
-
Benzaiten is a female kami to Shinto with the name
Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto.
-
See more at
Benzaiten - Wikipedia.
|
|
Different Buddhist deities.
|
|
Ema Hall (Ema-do).
In some early Shinto and folk traditions of Japan, horses were seen as
carrying messages from the kami, and were usually used to transmit
requests during droughts or famines. Horses were extremely expensive,
and figures made of clay or wood have been found dating to the Nara
period. The earliest text record of a substitution is from the Honcho
Bunsui from 1013, in which an offering of three paper horses is made at
the Kitano Tenjin shrine. During the Kamakura period, the practice
entered into Buddhist practice, as evidenced in painted scrolls of ema
at Buddhist temples.
-
Ema are left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or
gods) are believed to receive them.
-
Once inscribed with a wish, ema are hung at the shrine until they are
ritually burned at special events, symbolic of the liberation of the
wish from the writer.
-
As a ritual, the ema is a means to communicate wishes to both priests
and the kami. The public nature of the ema, which are displayed at
shrines before their ritual burning, also serves a social function for
communicating to the community that an individual has made the wish.
Burning the wishes helps to "symbolically liberate" the spirit of the
wish into the world. In some cases, however, wishes are taken from the
shrine to be hung at home, though still ritually burned in special
ceremonies.
-
See more at
Ema (Shinto) - Wikipedia.
|
|
Benten Hall (Benten-do).
In Japanese a Benten-do (lit. hall of Benten) is a Buddhist temple
dedicated to Benten or Benzaiten, goddess of wealth, happiness, wisdom,
and music. Many such temples exist all over Japan.
-
Because the goddess was originally the personification of a river,
Benten-do often stand next to some source of water, a river, pond,
spring, or even the sea.
-
The goddess is routinely believed to be essentially the same as kami
Ugajin within the syncretism of Buddhism and local kami worship called
shinbutsu-shugo.
-
For this reason, Benten-do can be found also at many Shinto shrines,
despite use of the suffix -do, which is the traditional designation
for a Buddhist "hall".
-
In contrast, the halls of Shinto shrines use the esuffix -den, as in
honden.
-
See more at
Benten-dō - Wikipedia.
|
|
Nagomi Jizo.
The grounds of the temple are home to hundreds of small Jizo statues,
placed by parents mourning offspring lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, or
abortion.
-
These statues remain in place for about a year, before being removed
to make way for more statues; it is estimated that some 50,000 Jizo
statues have been placed at Hase-dera since World War II.
|
|
Beginning of the stairs that lead to Hase-dera.
The temple is built on two levels.
- The temple sits about half-way up Mount Kamakura.
|
|
Hydrangea Path.
The temple is famous for its hydrangeas, which bloom along the Hydrangea
Path in June and July.
|
|
Jizo Hall (Jizo-do).
The hall appears after taking the stairs from the lower level.
-
Surrounding the hall, a large number of Jizo statues called Sentai
Jizo or Thousand Jizo stand in long rows.
-
Jizo is a Buddhist deity believed to protect children and give
prosperity to one’s descendant.
-
Mizukake Jizo (water-pouring Jizo) is placed near the hall as well. It
is believed that one can purify one’s mind by gently pouring water
over the statue.
|
|
Bell Tower (Shoro).
The original bell which was casted in 1264 is the third oldest bell in
Kamakura.
-
It was designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1953,
and is currently exhibited in the Kannon Museum.
-
The present temple bell was newly casted in 1984. It is struck at 8
O’clock every morning when the entrance gate opens.
|
|
Kannon Hall (Kannon-do).
According to the legend, the original Kannon-do hall was established in
736, when the Kannon statue washed ashore.
-
Although it has been reconstructed a number of times in later years,
one time experiencing the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 the hall
became devastated.
-
The present Kannon-do hall was built of reinforced concrete to
enshrine the Kannon statue protectively.
-
The total reconstruction was finally completed in 1985, after more
than 60 years since the disaster.
|
|
Reproduction of the Statue of Kannon.
The main statue of Kannon is one of the largest wooden statues in Japan,
with a height of 9.18 metres (30.1 ft) It is made from camphor wood,
with gold gilding. It has 11 heads, each of which represents a different
phase in the search for enlightenment.
-
According to legend, the statue is one of two images of Kannon carved
by a monk named Tokudo in 721.
-
The camphor tree was so large, according to legend, that he decided
that he could carve two statues with it.
-
One was enshrined in Hase-dera in the city of Nara, Yamato Province,
while the other was set adrift in the sea to find the place with which
it had a karmic connection.
-
The statue washed ashore on Nagai Beach on the Miura Peninsula near
Kamakura in the year 736. The statue was immediately brought to
Kamakura where a temple was built to honor it.
|
|
Kannon Museum.
The museum exhibits valued historic treasures of Hasedera temple.
- It consists of three exhibition spaces.
-
A large digital screen and touch screens are there for the visitors to
acquire better knowledge of Kannon and its faith.
|
|
Eight Deities sculpture (Hachibushu).
|
See also
Source
Location
