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| the gates of Kaizo-ji Temple |
I trekked around Kamakura on foot. The rain continued to fall from the dim, grey sky, and the town was quiet.
Presently, I came to the Kaizo-ji Temple.
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| a pond and temple garden |
Kaizo-ji is often called the "Temple of Flowers" because of its beautiful gardens.
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| temple bell tower |
This Buddhist temple dates back to at least the 16th century, when it was rebuilt following a fire. It's believed that the original temple building was as old as the 14th century.
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| a rainy day at the temple |
Myths surround this mystical temple, including the story of a nine-tailed fox spirit who was trapped in a stone. The stone killed anyone who touched it, until a Buddhist priest broke the stone with a hammer, freeing the spirit.
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| inside the temple hall |
By the time I got to the temple, I was thoroughly soaked, despite my umbrella. I was freezing! Even though it was June, it seemed that early spring hadn't yet ended in Japan, and the rain was icy cold! The benefit of this, though, was that nobody else was out and about, and I was free to explore Kamakura more or less by myself.
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| one of the temple buildings |
A path at the temple pointed the way to the "Sixteen Wells". Curiously, I started off on the path, but English signs soon disappeared. I know very little Japanese, but I know enough kanji to recognize that 十六 means "sixteen". I just looked for those characters, and kept walking along the damp, muddy path.
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| the path to the Sixteen Wells |
The Sixteen Wells are a group of sixteen shallow holes dug inside a little grotto, looked over by a statue of the Bodhisattva Kannon.
Nobody knows exactly what the wells are or what they represent. At least, I couldn't find much information either at the temple or online to help me figure it out. Historians think that the wells possibly represent sixteen Bodhisattva, or possibly spirits, and that the water was placed there for a blessing.
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| the Sixteen Wells |
Further on, I continued walking along the increasingly steep and hilly road, and arrived at the Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine. A short tunnel through the mountainside, framed by a torii gate, led the way to this ancient Shinto shrine.
The shrine is completely surrounded by the nearby cliffs and rock walls, and except for the tunnel, is completely hidden from the outside.
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| Zeniarai Benzaiten |
This shrine is extremely popular in Japan, because of the legend surrounding the magical properties of a spring that bubbles up at the shrine.
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| at Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine in Kamakura |
It is said that any money one washes in the magical waters will be returned to you five-fold! At the shrine, visitors can buy incense and candles and can borrow woven baskets in which to rinse their coins and bills. The name of the temple, "Zeniarai", in fact means "coin washing"! The founder of the shrine, which was built in 1185, also dedicated it to Benten, the goddess of snakes, after he saw her in a dream.
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| a man praying at the shrine |
I only had a few yen coins in my pocket. I was tempted to rinse my credit card in the water, but I figured that might be cheating.
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| wash your money here for luck |
Even though Kamakura had been quiet and peaceful that day, Zeniarai Benten was decently busy. I guess a lot of people are looking for a little extra financial blessing!
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| inside the shrine's grotto |
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