Kanagawa｜Kamakura’s Western Paradise, the Hasedera Temple legend of the floating Guanyin

There is more to Kamakura than Enoshima and the Great Buddha, but my favorite place is Hasedera Temple. Go to the Harudai Trail, where you can see the beautiful scenery of hydrangeas in May, shining against the Kamakura coast. Legend has it that more than 1,300 years ago, when Hasedera Temple in Nara was built, two statues of Guanyin were carved from nanmu wood. One was enshrined in Hasedera Temple in Yamato and the other was thrown into the sea. After 15 years, the Buddha statue floated in the sea to Sagami Province, and was finally moved to its current location, where Kamakura Hasedera Temple was built. The Hase 11-faced Guanyin is three stories high, but photography is not allowed inside the temple, so you can go there to experience the solemnity and beauty that shocks your soul. There are three places in the temple with three "Good Marriage Ksitigarbha" statues leaning against each other. It is said that if you find all of them, you will be able to find a good marriage. Also worth a visit is the Manfengyuan Academy, which is also a place for writing sutras. The dry landscape garden in the courtyard presents the purest form similar to Ginkaku-ji Temple, which can make people calm down involuntarily. 📍Address: 〒248-0016 Kanagawa Prefecture Kamakura City Nagaya 3-chome 11-2 #January Good Places 2025