Kamakura: Hase-dera

Hase-dera Temple was founded in 686 A.D. by Tokudo (means "monk") Domyo of Asukakawa Hara-dera. One of the stories of the origins of the temple states that in 721 A.D., on order of Emperor Shomu, Tokudo Shonin discovered a camphor tree, from which he carved two images of Kannon. Both were eleven-face representations of the bodhisattva. The Kannon sculpted from the lower half of the camphor tree was enshrined in Hase-dera in the province of Yokohama (Nara Prefecture). The image made from the upper half was cast into the sea with prayers that it would reach the land to which it had a karmic connection and save sentient beings. It washed ashore 16 years later, in 736 A.D., at Nagai, on the Miura Peninsula, glowing brightly upon the waters. This wooden image of Kannon was later transferred to its present site in Kamakura, where it is enshrined as the central image in a new temple, which Shonin was invited to establish.

Hase-dera temple is comprised of a number of smaller halls, each dedicated to a different buddhist diety.

The Kannon-do (Kannon Hall)

The main attraction is the image of Juichimen Kannon, the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara represented with eleven faces. It stands approximately 27.5 feet tall, making it the largest wooden sculture in Japan. Each of the eleven faces is a different expression, representing the eleven different aspects of the bodhisattva; three each face forward, left, and right, one is at the rear of the head, and one above crowns. These symbolize Kannon's hearing prayers and saving all sentient beings.

Unlike most images of Kanon, the Hase Kannon holds a monk's staff with metal rings (khakkhara) in the right hand and a vase with a lotus flower in the left hand. This distinctive pose, called the Hase-dera style, combines attributes often associated with the bodhisattva Jizo with those of Kannon. Many, regarding the image as combining the power of Kannon and Jizo, have a fervent faith in it.

Hase-dera, long a major center of Kannon worship, is the fourth temple on the Bando Pilgrimage to 33 Sites Sacred to Kannon, which was establish in the thirteenth century.

The Amida-do (Amida Hall)

The central images is this hall is a deated Amida Buddha (Amitabha) which is approximately 8.5 ft in height. Commissioned by Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199, the first Kamakura shogun), to avert the dangers of his forty-second year (this year proved to be a very unlucky year for Yoritomo), this image was originally in the Seigan-ji temple in the village of Hase. It is said to have been moved to Hase-dera in the late seventeenth century. Known popularly as the "Good-luck Amida," it is one of Kamakura's six principal statues of Amida.

The Jizo-do (Jizo Hall)

The power of the bodhisattva Jizo (Ksitigarbha) is as great as the blessings of the earth are vast. Outside, the little statues of Jizo on both sides of the hall have been placed there to pray for children who, sadly, were stillborn, miscarried, or aborted.

The Daikokudo (Daikoku Hall)

The central image, of Diakokuten (the god of wealth), dates from 1421 and is the oldest image of Diakokuten in Kanagawa Prefecture. The actual statue has been moved to the temple's Treasure Hall. The figure of "Daikokuten for success in worldly endeavors" is enshrined there in it's place. The hall is counted as one of the stations on the Enoshima-Kamakura Pilgrimage to the Seven Gods of Good Fortune.

The Bentendo and Bentenkutsu (Benzaiten Hall and Grotto)

The Benzaiten (a goddess of feminine beauty and wealth) at Hase-dera is a small, eight-armed figure enshrined in the Benzaiten Hall beside the Hosho Pond. Legend has it that the illustrious Kobe Daishi himself was divinely inspired to carve it. The walls of the grotto to the rear of the hall are inscribed with images of Benzaiten and sixteen children, representing minor gods serving Benzaiten.

Kyozo (The Sutra Repository)

The sutra repository contains a revolving sutra library that holds the Buddhist scriptures, which are precious to the temple. It is said that rotating the shelves of the sutra library represents a symbolic reading of the entire Buddhist cannon and thus gives equivalent merit. You can bet I took my turn spinning it...

Homotsukan (Treasure House)

The Treasure House preserves and displays cultural properties in the temple's possession as well as archaeological artifacts excavated during rebuilding in the temple's structures. The main items in the collection are:

• National Important Cutural Properties: Hanging images and the original temple bell
• Important Prefectural Assests: Temple going and the Hase-dera Engi Emaki scrolls
• Important Municipal Assets: Two stone memorials and a statue of Kannon of 33 Aspects
• Other treasures include:
• Statue of Daikokuten
• impression of the seal of Hojo Ujiyasu (1515-1571)
• injunctions issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598)
• Song Dynasty coins

Links of interest:

Hasedera
Hase Kannon Temple, Kamakura
Amitabha: An online introduction to Pureland Buddhism