How to visit Kenchoji Temple 建長寺 must be in any tourists’ guide for Kamakura. So, I just start from the main gate of the Temple. We arrive there by walking from JR Kitakamakura Station 北鎌倉駅or by bus from Kamakura / Ofuna Station. We enter the gate and pay 500 yen for the fee. Immediately before us is the temple complex where monks pray, meditate and instruct us during Zen meditation sessions. Please check the map inside the Temple here. Could you notice there is a road going north to Hansohboh 半僧坊 on the north-west side of the complex? When we walked Miura Alps from Yokohama side, Hansohboh was one of the goals and we walked through the Temple Complex to the JR station. At that time, Kenchoji Temple did not charge us entrance fee from Hansohboh. Alas, no more. Bank of Japan ended "unprecedented monetary easing," and one of the main issue for the coming Upper House Election (7/20) is inflation. There is no reason for Zen monks being uninterested in the matter … Anyway, the Memorial for Bugs does not ask us to reach Hansohboh.
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| From Kitakamakura Station to Kenchoji Temple |
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| The main gate for Kenchoji Temple |
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| Please pay the entrance fee there. |
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| Inside the sanctuary |
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| This road is to Hansohboh. |
We walk a small commuter road, pass several houses which are residences for monks, then the road becomes wider but in a full forest. The steps over there will lead us to Hansohboh. Turning our eyes to the left, there is a small bank with bamboo forest. Please walk up a bit and find the way to enter this petite hill. You’ll recognize several installations with sculptures of insects over there. That’s the bugs’ memorial authored by Kengo Kuma. Combined metallic cages are surrounded by bushes of azalea. In the middle of the cages is a sculpture for a weevil. Weevil? Oh yeah, they are the beloved insects by Prof. Takeshi Yoroh. Outside the cage there are sculptures for a dragonfly, a stag beetles, several weevils, and a jewel beetle. Those outside the cage are, I would say, beautiful and some have a nice size and curvature for becoming a bench …
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| The
commuter road becomes wider when the forest becomes “in honest.” Please take the left way. |
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| To Hansohboh |
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| A petit hill for the Memorial |
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| The entrance to the Bugs’ Memorial |
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| A stag beetle |
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| Here is another. |
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| Weevil #1 |
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| Weevil #2 |
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| Another
weevil. I think weevils are really loved by the Professor. |
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| A
jewel beetle. Hm, it’s a bit tricky to sit on it. |
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| A
dragonfly. All the sculptures are beautiful, don’t you think? It’s LOVE, mate. |
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| … It looks sorry … in the cage … |
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| The Memorial is decorated with white azaleas. |
On June 4th, I arrived at the Memorial before noon. No sign of religious ceremony at all. Several people were unsurely meandering around the installation. I joined them for a while, and felt nervous if the ceremony was over already. Eventually, a murmur spread. “The service starts at 14:00.” Relieved! I decided to have lunch. There is no café inside the sanctuary, but just outside the main gate, there is a famous café, Tenshinan 点心庵 where they serve Kenchinjiru Soup by the traditional recipe from Kenchoji Temple. (We can go there if we ask at the gate to return the sanctuary after lunch. They will tell you you keep the half-ticket for the entrance and show it when you return.) Kenchinjiru is a pure vegetarian, nay vegan to be exact, soup created more than 700 years ago by zen monks of Kenchoji Temple. The endorsement and reference recipe from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is here! Now the menu is one of the standards for Japanese home or otherwise cooking. If you do not mind lunch without meat, please try. I love this soup. Oh, they serve meat if you choose such a menu for lunch. + The evening is for only one party with reservation per day. Later I learned monks, Prof. Yoroh and his friends always dine there after the service for bugs. So, every June 4th, evening at Tenshinan is taken and no chance for a newcomer muscle in the schedule. 😉
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| Kamakura Tenshinan |
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| Inside
the café, they have a special room for zen tea ceremony where they occasionally hold tea ceremony. For the schedule, please check their HP. |
After lunch, I returned to the memorial place around 13:00. Already lots of people were there. I guess there were more than 100 of us. An alter table and folding chairs were situated in front of the cage. Several monks were busy perfecting the alter. Around 14:00, Prof. Yoroh, Mr. Kuma, and their entourage slowly came into the alter space in the forest. It was said that Prof. Yoroh of the great age has lung cancer. He was scheduled to be hospitalized soon. He walked slowly, and perhaps his daughter (; she takes after the professor) supported his walk. His troop sat on the rows of folding chairs. Then, the Head of Kenchoji Temple entered the space and took the podium. The service began.
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| Many people near the altar |
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| The altar. This is a serious thing, you know. |
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| Monks are busy. |
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| Prof. Yoroh and the monks for Kenchoji Temple |
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| The professor and friends |
Telling you the truth, I could not understand a word from the mantra in Sanskrit the Head of the Temple recited. I was sure the chant is soothing the souls of bungs that were crushed between our fingers so far. The Head had low and calming voice. We quietly stationed in our space, sometimes closed eyes, and listened the monk’s saltation. It was a meditative experience in the forest ... After completing the recitation, the monks performed the praying ritual at the altar, then Prof. Yoroh took the podium. “Thank you for coming to remember these creatures. We did not advertise the occasion, but such many people attended our memorial. It is a great surprise.” He expressed his passion for insects and bugs, told us his several challenges of old age, and concluded “I wish I could hold the same memorial next year after discharged from the hospital.” Oh dear … The Professor’s speech ended and he and his associates approached the altar and performed Buddhist’s praying ritual. The monks for Kenchoji Temple announced it was our turn to pray at the altar. We proceeded to the table one by one and prayed for bugs, and for Prof. Yoroh. The Professor has lots of enthusiasts. Many people from all around Japan visited Kenchoji Temple on June 4th to share the same time and space with him. All the attendees of the Ceremony listened to his news and had a concern. We hoped we can have the same memorial service next year.
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| The Head of Kenchoji Temple reciting the mantra |
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| The sermon |
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| Professor’s speech |
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| And they performed the ritual. |
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| Our turn |
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| The queue was long … |
It was a sunny afternoon before the summer solstice. The air was soft, and the space surrounded by the forest was cozy. The mantra recited by the Head of the Temple gave a further meditative atmosphere. If bugs could listen to that, they could be comforted as well. These days, Kamakura is becoming a theme park for tourists with noisy hustle and bustle. But the space around the Memorial was curiously serene. On that June 4th a bit peculiar kind of people who loved bugs congregated without advertisement. If you have sympathy for bugs which are casually wasted by larger living things, spending a reflective day next to the Memorial would be nice. Me? The internet fortune teller once told me my next reincarnation will be a bug. I was serious about attending the occasion. Amen. Whoops, it’s a Buddhist ceremony!
Kenchoji Temple 建長寺
8 Yamanouchi, Kamakura
247-8525, Japan
〒247-8525 神奈川県鎌倉市山ノ内8
Phone: 0467-22-0981（8:30-16:30）
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