Dirty money?

I was always taught that money was the dirtiest thing ever since the day I was caught with a penny in my mouth at age two. Well, there's a shrine in Kamakura where you can give your money a good washing! It's called Zeniarai Benten, and the legend has it that the money that is washed there will double. This place is fantastic. Not your typical temple or shrine, that's for sure. It's apparently one of the most popular shrines in Kamakura.

According to one website, the shrine was founded "on the day of the Serpent, the month of the Serpent in 1185, the year of Serpent on lunar calendar based on twelve zodiac signs." So there are serpents everywhere and you can buy eggs and sake to offer to the serpent god who lives in the shrine.

The site continues: "'Wash money with sacred water and spend it clean.' It's money laundering in Japanese fashion. Oddly enough, two-thirds of those who visit here are women, according to a survey conducted by a magazine publisher. Dose [sic] it mean that women are greedier than men? On the other hand, there are a handful of devout worshipers, mostly merchants, who deeply revere the Shrine and wash bundles of 10,000-yen (roughly US$80) bills."

Here is one of the side shrines where you can purchase the eggs and sake. Zeniarai Benten was such a festive place, with monks chanting in one area and folks making offerings at small statues of serpents and of course, the festive atmosphere at the money-washing area of the shrine.

Zeniarai Benten is quite a bit away from the main attractions of Kamakura, but a scenic hiking trail leads you right there.

Here's where the magic happens. You grab a basket, put your yen in (I put a 10,000-yen note in the basket) and ladle the water over the bills. The sign that notes "Dries naturally" is there to discourage people from attempting to dry their money over the nearby incense burners, as I'm sure many have done with disastrous results. Not likely to double your cash that way, that's for sure!

Kamakura sakura

Had to make another trip to Kamakura during sakura season! Anyone who goes to Tokyo needs to visit Kamakura; it's such a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the big city, though it was pretty crowded and the Kamakura visit marked the first time I've seriously been shooed out of a restaurant. And we were only there for 15 minutes! Yipes!

The Temples and Shrines of Kamakura - Part 2

The main shrine of Kamakura, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, was built for worshipping the Emperor Ohjin, Himegami and the Empress Jingu. It is on a long thoroughfare with lots of little shops and food stands, as well as rows of cherry trees. Over two million people visit this shrine each year and in the spring and fall, there are horseback archery (yabusame) festivals on the grounds. There are two major shrines here: the junior shrine on the first level and the senior shrine that is approximately 100 steps above.

The favorite temple that I visited was Hasedera Temple, which features a 9-meter tall statue of Kannon with eleven faces, the largest wooden statue in Japan, as well as a small museum featuring wooden and earthenware statues of the goddess Kannon, complete with crystal eyes. From Hasedera, we could see the beaches of Kamakura as well as the small town of Hase. It was a beautiful place to visit.

Finally, we went to see the Daibutsu, the Great Buddha, the most celebrated landmark of Kamakura. I mentioned a little bit about the Daibutsu in my last post. Yoritomo Minamoto, the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate first saw a Buddha being erected in a neighboring prefecture and wanted to build a larger one in Kamakura. He died before his vision came to fruition. Later a tsunami destroyed the building that housed the Daibutsu and it has sat outside, battered by the elements for more than 700 years. Later on, the mostly copper statue was used as a homeless shelter and a refuge for drunken gamblers. The tradition continues as drunken tourists pose in front of the Daibutsu and pay 20 yen to squeeze inside.

The Temples and Shrines of Kamakura - Part 1

Kamakura is about 45 minutes south of Tokyo and easily reachable by train. Once the capital of Japan during the 1100s, it is now an easy escape from the city, and hoardes of Tokyoites head to the beaches of Kamakura during the hot summer months. During our visit there last weekend, we viewed four temples and shrines as well as Kamakura's most famous landmark, the Daibutsu (大仏) or the Great Buddha. The Daibutsu, which was cast in 1252, was massive: Over 13 meters tall and more than 90 tons, it used to be housed in a temple that was washed away by a tsunami, so now it just sits outside in all of its massive glory. For 20 yen (less than 20 cents), we went inside the statue, but it not so interesting and more to be able to say, "Yeah, we were inside that Buddha!"

Kamakura was interesting in that there were also Japanese tourists visiting there, which was odd. Living in Tokyo, you're used to seeing Japanese at work, going out, etc. so watching them with their own guidebooks and maps was an oddity, particulary when they ask to have their photo taken with ... you of all people. With all the sights in Kamakura, a bunch of us were asked to take photos, and we of course complied. God knows what the captions on those photos will end up being...

We started our trip at Jomyoji Temple, where despite it being pretty cold that day and the middle of February, was still full of lush greenery and zen gardens. We went inside and sat on a heated pad on the porch looking out into the gardens and were served matcha, a powdered green tea used in ceremony. It wasn't the full-fledged tea ceremony with all of its intricate formalities, but we were served a really sweet confection before we sipped the slightly bitter tea.

We were given an explanation about how the tea is prepared before sipped away!

Next to Jomyoji was Hokokuji Temple with yet another Karesansui garden. Also quite peaceful and pretty, particularly with its cliffs and ponds and waterfalls.























Around lunchtime we visited Tsuruoka Hachimangu, the main shrine in Kamakura in the center of town, near all the shops selling the purple sweet potato Kamakura specialties (ice cream, fried potato patties, candy, ramen, etc.) and other things like candy apples, candy grapes (!), candy strawberries. It was a pretty sight, but very crowded, since it was the only shrine/temple that we visited that day that didn't require a small entrance fee of 100 or 200 yen. Visitors climb a series of steps (Rocky-style) to get to the actual temple, but it's definitely worth it to get close and view the intricate woodwork on the buildings as well as the colorful statues encased in glass.

Kamakura au naturel

Got the chance to visit Kamakura with some members of my class from TUJ, and took hundreds of photos while there. I was really happy that I was able to take some nature shots, something that I'm not very used to (I'm more drawn to landscape and architectural photography), but I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of the photographs I took came out pretty well, despite the glare. The weather here has been pretty spastic. Last week it was close to the 70s, this weekend we saw snowflakes, and today is dreary and rainy.

It was great to get out of the city, eat sweet potato ice cream, and traipse around in the greenery, but I will write more about that later. For now, here are a few of the aforementioned photographs. For some of them, I couldn't get away from framing the shots in terms of the great architecture I encountered in Kamakura.