Hokokuji

Hokokuji is a Rinzai Zen temple founded in 1334 in a small valley east of central Kamakura, and it is known almost entirely for the grove behind the main hall: about two thousand moso bamboo stems on a slope, with a path through them and a tea house at the far side where matcha and a sweet are served looking into the bamboo. The stems are large and close, the light through them is green, and the sound is the reason the temple has kept the grove as it is - bamboo moves constantly and the noise blocks the town. Behind the grove are yagura, cave tombs cut into the soft rock hillside, which are a Kamakura form found throughout the town's valleys. The temple is small and the visit is short; going early, before the buses, is the difference between a quiet grove and a queue.

History

The temple was founded in 1334 by its first priest, Tengan Eko, in memory of Ashikaga Ietoki, grandfather of the first Ashikaga shogun, and it became the family temple of the Ashikaga and Uesugi clans. It is sometimes called Takuma-dera, after the sculptor of a statue lost in a fire in 1891 (Wikipedia, Hōkoku-ji).

What you'll find

• Two thousand bamboo stems - a dense moso grove on the slope behind the hall.
• The tea house - matcha served facing into the bamboo at the far side.
• The sound - constant movement that screens out the town.
• Yagura - cave tombs cut into the soft rock, a Kamakura form.

When to go

All year; early morning before the buses. An hour.

Before you go

It is small - the grove path takes ten minutes. Entry is charged and the tea is extra. Midday brings coach groups into a narrow space. There is little else at the temple beyond the bamboo.

Nearby

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is west; Sugimotodera is a short walk along the road.

Key facts