Niels was scheduled for a workshop in Yokosuka this evening, but before that Hiro drove us to Kamakura to see the famous Kencho-ji Zen temple and Shinto shrine in that area. The drive took about an hour or so.
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| A sakura tree in full bloom. |
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| Entrance to KENCHO-JI temple (SOMON, general gate) |
A little background on Kencho-ji temple....
Kencho-ji is ranked the highest among 5 great Zen temples in Kamakura, and is the oldest monastery for Zen training in Japan. It was constructed in the 13th century during the Kencho Era, hence it's name.
The found of this temple was Rankei Doryu (Lan-hsi Tao-lung) a Chinese Zen master from the Sung Dynasty, who left China in 1246 to teach Zen in Japan. He was the first Zen priest to be conferred the title of "Daikaku Zenji" (Teacher of Great Realization) by the Emperor Gouda.
One of his meaningful sayings:
"If you have lost your true self,
all phenomena bring you nothing but annoyance.
If you discover your essence of mind,
you can follow nothing but the true path."
Kencho-ji originally comprised seven main buildings and 49 sub-temples, but most were destroyed in a series of fires during the 14th and 15th century. At present, the temple complex contains about 10 sub-temples and several main buildings.
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| SANMON (Main Gate) |
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| Admiring an ancient tree |
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HATTO (Dharma Hall)
All major public ceremonies are performed in this building which dates from 1814.
It is the largest wooden Buddhist structure in Eastern Japan. |
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Niels & I in front of KARAMON (Chinese Gate)
This was originally located at Zojo-ji in Tokyo but was moved
piece by piece to this present location in 1647. |
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| With Hsiao Ling |
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BONSHO (Temple Bell)
This bell, cast in 1255, bearing an inscription by the Founder, has
been designated a National Treasure by the government of Japan. |
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| In deep contemplation.... ;) |
Next stop is the most important Shinto shrine in the Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture ...Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu.
It's definitely a popular destination, observing from the number of people in this place. And very likely a popular spot for newly-weds to get their photos taken. We spotted one during our visit.
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| Japanese bridal couple |
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| Walking towards the main temple (in the background) |
A little bit about this place that I gleaned from the internet: This shrine was originally built in 1063 and dedicated to the Emperor Ojin, his mother Empress Jingu and his wife Hime-gami. The temple was moved to its present location in 1191 by the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsurugaoka_Hachiman-g%C5%AB)
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On the left of the shrine's great stone stairway was a 1000-year old
gingko tree which was uprooted in the early hours of March 10, 2010
by a storm. Efforts to revive the tree were unsuccessful.... |
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| The grand old gingko tree in all its splendour before its demise. |
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| Niels trying to get the attention of this pond's inhabitants. |
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Here fishy, fishy....I don't have food for you but you can have
a go at my finger..... :) |
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Interesting booths lining the pathway to the main shrine.
This one sells roasted gingko nuts. Fresh and dee-lee-cious! |
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This one sells an assortment of colourful candies.
So tempting....but nah ah....got to watch that waist. |
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Another one selling strawberries sprinkled with sugar
and stuck to a biscuit base with syrup. |
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A traditional custom before entering a Shinto shrine:
Wash ones hands and rinse ones mouth.. |
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| First the fish, now the pigeons.... lol! |
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| Sake barrels...lots of em! |
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Stoned!...
Too much sake... |
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| The stone stairway leading up to the shrine hall. |
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| Inside the shrine. |
On to Yokosuka....but wait...we must stop first for lunch.
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Enjoying our lunch of freshly baked breads, pies
and patisserie. |
Okay, our tummies are full. On to Yokosuka for some dancing!
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| Niels, in his element, teaching a dance. |
The dancers who came to the Yokosuka workshop were mostly beginners..some were first-timers. But Niels taught them expertly and they managed to learn dances that most first-timers wouldn't be able to do.
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| It's great meeting up with Yuki again after so many years! |
After the workshop, we headed for....what else!....DINNER! :D
For dinner, we had salad starters and then some soup with white radish in it followed by lots and lots of different yakitori (skewered grilled/barbecued meat) ending with onigiri (stuffed rice balls).
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| It was a tight squeeze at that table for 12 of us |
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| From L to R: Kieko Maeda, Mio, Niels & yours truly |
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For those familiar with the konnyaku jelly that we have
in Malaysia.....well, this is the ingredient from which it's
made. The arum root according to Hiro. |
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| Yakitori. Juicy cherry tomatoes envelope by pork slices. |
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| Please....do try this...and this...and this. :D |
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| I can't remember what meat this was but it had cheese in the centre. |
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| More yakitori! |
It was a great and well spent day. We arrived back at the hotel at midnight.
Tomorrow: The 1st day of workshops for 12TCCDF at Ikegami Hall.
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