Hōkoku-ji Audio Guide

Hōkoku Temple: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Hōkoku Temple

   Welcome to Hōkoku Temple, written 報国寺 in Japanese, in the Jōmyōji district of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture. This is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai Zen school, within the Kenchōji branch. Its full formal name is Kōshinzan Hōkoku Kenchū Zenji, a mouthful that you will rarely hear, because almost everyone simply calls it the bamboo temple. The reason is just beyond the main buildings. A grove of about 2000 Moso bamboo grows within the grounds, and it has made the temple one of Kamakura's best known sights. But the grove is only part of the story. The temple is also a stop on several Kamakura pilgrimage routes, it carries a medieval tale of loyalty and tragedy, and it keeps a cave tomb in the hillside. Over the next few stops, I will take you through the temple's founding, its place among Kamakura's pilgrimage circuits, the sad story of the Ashikaga family connected to it, and the green quiet of the bamboo itself. Take a slow breath, because this place rewards slow walking.

2. 02

   Hōkoku Temple and the Story of Its Founding

   Hōkoku Temple is said to have been founded in 1334, in the first year of the Kenmu era. Its founding abbot was the Zen master Tengan Ekō. He studied under the great teachers Mugaku Sogen and Kohō Kennichi, then crossed to China in the Yuan period to train under the master Kolin Shimao. After returning home, he opened this temple. Who stood behind it as founder and patron is told in two ways. One account names Ashikaga Ietoki, grandfather of the famous shogun Ashikaga Takauji. But Ietoki died in 1284, half a century before 1334, so another account says the temple was created by Uesugi Shigekane, who lived in the nearby Takuma valley, to honor Ietoki's memory. The two families were closely linked. Shigekane's aunt, Kiyoko, married Ietoki's heir Sadauji. Whichever telling you prefer, the result was a temple that served as the family temple of both the Ashikaga and the Uesugi. Within the Rinzai Zen system, it was ranked among the Shozan, the second tier of the temple hierarchy.

3. 03

   Pilgrim Routes and Sacred Images at Hōkoku Temple

   Hōkoku Temple is a place of pilgrimage as well as a place for sightseeing. The main image of worship is a Shaka triad, the historical Buddha with two attendants. The temple is the tenth stop on the Kamakura Thirty-Three Kannon pilgrimage, the fourth stop on the Kamakura Thirteen Buddhas pilgrimage, and the fifth Kamakura stop on the Hundred Flower Temples of Eastern Japan. The tenth Kannon stop is a standing figure of Shō Kannon, placed to the right of the main hall. In this form, the bodhisattva has one head and two arms. In the left hand, it holds a lotus bud, and the right hand gently moves to open it. The statue is normally closed to the public, and it is shown only three times a year. The Thirteen Buddhas stop is Fugen Bosatsu, the bodhisattva of wisdom and practice, and the figure is small, only about 16 centimeters tall. It sits on a white elephant and holds a ruyi scepter. It was made or repaired in 1814 by the Buddhist sculptor Mitsuhashi Eisuke. Look at the expressive face and the decoration of the robes, which give the tiny statue a graceful air. It rests in the right rear part of the main hall.

4. 04

   The Cave Tomb and the Tragedy of the Eikyō Rebellion at Hōkoku Temple

   Behind the peaceful scene lies a dark chapter. In 1438, the Eikyō Rebellion broke out, and the fourth Kamakura Kubō, Ashikaga Mochiuji, was defeated. His son Yoshihisa took his own life here, at Hōkoku Temple, in the hills of Kamakura. The temple preserves a yagura, one of the horizontal cave tombs cut into the hillsides all around Kamakura. Tradition holds that this one is the grave of the founder, Ashikaga Ietoki, and of Yoshihisa. So within a single small cave, a family's beginnings and one of its sorrows are remembered together. The temple also keeps a building from 1757, the oldest on its grounds. In earlier times the main hall and other buildings were thatched, which gives an idea of how the temple looked in the past. Today's visitors tend to remember the bamboo, but history here is quiet and close at hand.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Now that you know the stories behind the bamboo, you may see the grove with new eyes. It is a place of calm, and it is also a temple of medieval Zen, family ties, pilgrimage and memory. If you are planning your visit, the temple is reached from Kamakura Station. A taxi from the east exit takes about 7 minutes. As you wander, let your attention drift between three things: the small Buddhist images, the cave tomb in the hillside, and the green light that filters through the bamboo. And if you can, think about how many people have come here over nearly seven centuries, some for prayer, some for a moment of rest. What will you take away?