[A moment of meditation and immersion in the world of Akutagawa literature at Engakuji Temple in Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture]

[A moment of meditation and immersion in the world of Akutagawa literature at Engakuji Temple in Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture]

On this day, I wanted to immerse myself in the atmosphere of a dimension and time-space beyond the reach of secular human words, so I left the ticket gate at Kita-Kamakura Station and climbed the stairs of Engakuji Temple, which was located nearby.
The temple grounds were founded in 1282 during the late Kamakura period by Zen master Mugai Sogen, who was invited from China during the Song Dynasty by Hojo Tokimune. The temple grounds contain a cave where the Zen master is said to have stayed, and spiders now make their home there.
I climbed all the way to the top of Kobai-in Temple, then slowly descended to view each hall and garden.
It started to rain on the way, and a series of large spider webs appeared, wet with rain and dew. Akutagawa Ryunosuke's "The Spider's Thread" is a moral novel that teaches the importance of altruism, but when you look at the strength of the threads and the functional metallic beauty of the independent orb spider's web, you can also project the ideal of an independent life in which one can choose one's own place to live, eat one's own food, and spin a web with one's own efforts.

I meditated for a while before my usual yoga in the two contrasting atmospheres of the Kojirin and Butsuden halls, which are open regardless of the day or time of the Zen meditation meeting, and was grateful to find Song Dynasty culture in the dragon ceiling painting in the Butsuden hall, the golden beauty of the principal image, and the footwear of the monks, before heading home.

🕌Engakuji Temple, the main temple of the Rinzai sect
💰Price per person: 500 yen admission fee
🕰️Business hours: 8:30AM-4PM
📍Location: 409 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa 247-0062
🍵🍡Benten Chaya, full business from April
💰Price per person: 500-1600 yen
🕰️Pre-opening business days
・Business days in March
3rd (Mon), 4th (Tue), 6th (Thu), 7th (Fri), 11th (Tue), 13th (Thu), 14th (Fri), 18th (Tue),
20th (Thu, holiday), 21st (Fri), 25th (Tue), 27th (Thu), 28th (Fri), 29th (Sat)
🕰️Business hours: 9:00-16:00

Recommended nearby spots
#Travel in Asia
🕌Tokeiji Temple
#seasonal places in Japan #Kita-Kamakura #Kamakura #Kamakura cafe #Japan travel #japan #tourism #tourism #temple yoga #meditation spot