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Hase-dera (Kamakura)

Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Japan

Summary

Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Japan

Field	Value
name	Hase-dera
image	HasederaKannondo20120716.jpg
caption	Kannon-dō (Main hall)
location	3-11-2 Hase, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
religious_affiliation	Jōdo-shū
deity	Jūichimen Kannon
(Eleven-Headed Kannon)
country	Japan
website	http://www.hasedera.jp
founded_by	Tokudō Shōnin
year_completed	736

(Eleven-Headed Kannon) Hase-dera, commonly called the Hase-kannon, is one of the Buddhist temples in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, famous for housing a massive wooden statue of Jūichimen Kannon, an eleven-headed manifestation of the Bodhisattva Kannon.

The temple originally belonged to the Tendai sect of Buddhism, but eventually became an independent temple of the Jōdo-shū.

History

Legend has it that the temple was established in the Tenpyō era (729-749 C.E.). However, documents at the temple suggest that the temple really came into its own during the Kamakura period (1192-1333).

Statue

The main statue of Kannon is one of the largest wooden statues in Japan, with a height of 9.18 m 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 Tokudō 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.

Temple buildings

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.

Temple grounds

The temple is built on two levels and also includes a cave. The cave, called benten kutsu (Benzaiten Grotto), 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.

The temple is famous for its hydrangeas, which bloom along the Hydrangea Path in June and July.

The grounds of the temple are home to hundreds of small Jizō 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 Jizō statues have been placed at Hase-dera since World War II.

Pilgrimage routes

The temple is the fourth of the 33 stations of two different pilgrimage routes:

Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit dedicated to the goddess Kannon
Kamakura Kannon Pilgrimage

Gallery

File:Sammon main gate.jpg|Sanmon (main gate) File:Amido-do hall.JPG|Amida-do File:Shoro Belfry in Hase-dera.JPG|Shōrō (belfry) File:KakigaraInari shrine.JPG|Kakigara-Inari File:View over Kamakura bay.JPG|View over Kamakura's Sagami Bay File:Benten-do Hall.JPG|Kyōzō (Sutra Archive) File:Daikoku-do Hall.JPG|Daikoku-dō File:Hasedera kannon, 10.JPG|Jūichimen Kannon File:Rock garden, Hase-dera, Kamakura, 2016.jpg|Rock garden File:Hasedera Illumination at night time.jpg|alt=Illumination of Hasedera Temple in summer|Illumination of Hasedera Temple in summer

Benten-Kutsu Cave

File:Hase-dera_cave.jpg|Entrance to the cave File:Benten-Kutsu statue 01.JPG|Statues of Benten File:Benten-Kutsu statue 02.JPG|Bas-relief of Daikoku-ten File:Benten-Kutsu statue 03.JPG|Bas-relief of Gyūba-dōji File:Benten-Kutsu statue 04.JPG|Different Buddhist deities File:Hasedera kannon, grotta 05.JPG|Benzaiten

Access

Hase-dera is located a five minute walk from Hase Station, the third station from Kamakura along the Enoden railway line.

References

English language pamphlet from Kaikozan Hasedera
"Hasedera - Kamakura, Japan".
[http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kannon-pilgrim-kamakura.shtml Kannon - Goddess of Mercy--Pilgrimage in Japan]

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

buddhist-temples-in-kamakura temples-of-avalokiteśvara jōdo-shū-temples

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