Koubai (red japanese apricot) flowers: Kencho-ji

In the garden of this historic Zen temple, as if to joyously herald the long-awaited arrival of spring, the early-flowering apricot tree has begun blooming vigorously in response to the stealthy increase in temperature and sunlight. They have been quietly preparing to bloom during the gloomy winter to welcome the bright newborn spring.

The Earth orbits around the Sun over the course of a year. As the Earth orbits, the way in which the Earth and the Sun face each other continually changes, which brings about the endless parade of the seasons.

The seasons are turning ceaselessly as they always do. As always, the sleeping plants, which have silently survived the winter, are just waking up and steadily opening their fresh leaves and bright flowers one after another to resume their stories of life for flourishing lively. 

Image of Jizo Bosatsu (Kshitigarbha): Kencho-ji

This seated statue of Jizo Bosatsu (Jizo Bodhisattva), which is the Honzon (principal deity) of Kencho-ji Temple, is housed in the exquisitely constructed wooden Buddhist hall. It is very rare in the Zen temples of Japan for a Jizo Bosatsu image to be the principal object of worship. 

This Buddhist guadian-deity (371.5 cm high) is made by "Mokushin kanshitsu-zukuri" method (dried lacquer over wood-core) and is thought to have been made in the Muromachi period (1336-1573). With this shaping technique, the general shape of a statue is carved out of wood and finished off with a layer of wood shavings and Japanese lacquer on top of it.

Although the common principal image of Zen temples of Japan is usually Shakyamuni Buddha or Vairocana Buddha, but Kencho-ji Temple have had Jizo Bosatsu as its principal image, because this temple was built in the place of the old Jizodo hall which had stood  to console the dead souls in the execution site called Jigoku-dani (hell valley). Jizo Bosatsu performs his sacred mission of relieving dead children, slain travellers and decreased persons from the underworld.

In Japan, the Buddhist images made with the use of Kansitu-zukuri (dry-lacquer techinique) were very popular during the Nara period (710-794), because the plasticity of the materials was matched the realistic style of the statues. But this technique was gradually declined as it was time-consuming and its materials (especially japanese lacquer) was scarce.

Mokushin-kanshitu statues had been produced since the early Heian period. In the Kamakura (1185-1333) and Muromachi (1336-1573) periods, with the rise of the trade between Japan and the Sung dynasty, many Chinese Zen monks including Rankei Doryu (the founder of Kencho-ji) were invited to Japan from the Sung dynasty, and Zen temples were built in Kamakura and Kyoto under the teaching of these monks. The Buddhist images in the style of Mokusin-kanshitu are said to be influenced by the modeling technique of the Sung dynasty.

This seated statue of Jizo Bosatsu is said to have been created in the Muromachi period, and is characterized by the vestment style called "Hoe Suika" in which the sleeves and hem of the robe are hung down. This Sung-Dynasty style vestment of Buddha images was popular in the Kamakura region from the Nanbokucho (Northern and Southern Dynasties) to the early Muromachi period (1336-1573).

 

Butsu-den (Buddha hall): Kencho-ji

In Kamakura period (1185-1333), in course of the trade between Japan and Song Dynasty of China, Chinese Zen masters were actively invited to Kamakura to introduce Zen Buddhism in Japan. Zen Buddhism is the sect of Mahayana Buddhism which asserts that spiritual awakening from delusions can only come through deep meditation and intuition without words and letters.

Along with this arrival of Zen masters, the products of Chinese culture and the architecture style of Chinese Zen temples at that time were introduced into Japan.

In Japan, as in the case of the Shariden hall (National treasure) of Engaku-ji Temple in Kamakura, the architecture of Zen temples typically adopted the austere and sturdy style called Zenshu-yo (traditional Zen-sect-style architecture). 

However, this Butsuden (Buddha hall) of Kencho-ji Temple, which enshrines its principal image (Jizo Bosatsu), seems to be graceful and decorative in comparison with the traditional Zen-style buildings. Its style looks like that of the buildings of Nikko Tosho-gu Shrine (1636) which is a typical architecture style after mid-late Edo period.

According to the description presented in the official web site of Kencho-ji, this Butsuden building is said to be the fourth building since its initial construction. In 1647, Kencho-ji took over the Mitamaya (mausoleum) of the wife (Oe no Kata) of the second Tokugawa Shogun. This mausoleum was originally located at Zojo-ji Temple in Shiba, Edo (Tokyo). On the occasion of the rebuilding of the mausoleum, this beautiful building was given to this temple together with the Karamon (Chinese-style gate).

Image of Bodhidharma: Kencho-ji

Bathed in the bright afternoon sunlight, the black granite statue of Bodhidharma (Daruma) sinking in deep meditation is placed beside the winter bamboo grove.

This image of Bodhidharma seems to represent his ascetic Zen practice to seek true enlightenment by continuing to sit in meditation alone while gazing the rock wall in a dark and narrow cave.

Bodhidharma, the founder of Chinese Zen Buddhism, is said to have been a Brahman from India. He traveled to China in the early 6th century and taught Zen in various places.

It is said that he spent nine years for performing his intense Zen meditation for entering nirvana, at Suzan Shorin-ji Temple in the outskirts of Luoyang.

In the Shaolin Temple, there is a small cave called "Daruma-Cave" behind the Hatsuzo-an hermitage on the hillside of Gonyu Peak. This cave is said to be the place where Bodhidharma kept performing the rigorous practice of Menpeki (facing the rock wall for meditation).

Winter bamboo grove: Kencho-ji

 

Hakubai (white japanese apricot) flowers: Engaku-ji

 

Roubai (winter sweet) flowers: Engaku-ji

Earlier than any of the spring flowers, the small golden flowers of Robai are innocently blooming to welcome the new spring in the chilly air.

Before my finding these flowers, they let me notice their graceful opening by their faint and pleasant scent in the first south wind and gently announce the secret arrival of the delightful spring.

Koubai (red japanese apricot) flowers: Engaku-ji

 

Suisen (narcissus) flowers and Tsukubai (wash basin):Engaku-ji

 

Hakubai (white Japanese apricot) flowers: Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

 

Koubai (red Japanese apricot) flowers: Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

 

Hakubai (white Japanese apricot) flowers: Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

 

Fuyu-botan (winter peony): Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

Botan (peony) flowers are originally bloom in early summer. They magnificently bloom from April to May in Japan, flowering after fresh green leaves appear. 

In China and Asian cultural regions, they have long been admired as "the king of a hundred flowers", "the flower of wealth and beauty" etc.

Huyu-botan (winter peony) is the traditional Japanese horticultural species, which is artificially grown with spending time and effort to bloom in cold winter. These graceful and auspicious flowers make us enjoy beautiful colors and shapes in the shady winter when the colorful flowers almost disappear.

These fragile peony flowers are enclosed in the Wara-bocchi (straw umbrella) to protect them from the coldness of the winter.

Fuyu-botan (winter peony): Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

 

Fuyu-botan (winter peony): Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

 

Fuyu-botan (winter peony): Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

 

Autumnal tints: Engaku-ji

In front of the imperial envoy gate decorated with exquisite wooden carvings, the old cherry tree, which was in full bloom the last spring, has lost their leaves completely and is quietly ready for surviving the harsh winter.

In the declining sun of the early winter, the autumnal leaves of the maple tree are vibrantly presenting their vivid flaming colors to the full before their gradual falling, as if to emit the blazing radiance of the sinking sun in the evening sky.

The seasons always continue changing rapidly like our fleeting lives. The living things around me have begun to quiet down and prepare for the coming grim winter as always.

Insects and birds are secretly disappearing somewhere to protect themselves from the severe winter. Trees and plants are shedding their leaves for passing the long cold season and are patiently waiting for their regrowth in the next spring.

Autumnal tints: Engaku-ji

In Japan, the scarlet maple leaves in autumn and the pale pink cherry blossoms in spring have long fascinated people with their striking splendor and transitoriness since the period called the Heian (794-1185).

They have been traditionally respected as the most essential aesthetic subjects of "Mono no aware," which is Japanese inherent feeling of sadness or pathos about our fleeting world. 

Autumnal leaves and cherry blossoms have been historically presented in various Japanese classical literature and fine arts and crafts.

In traditional Japanese expression, the vivid beauty of autumn leaves can be compared to the silk fabric “Nishiki” (brocade). Nishiki is a general term for brilliant silk fabrics in which the ground color and pattern are woven together with various colored threads.

In the glow of the autumn afternoon, the colorful leaves of Momiji (maple tree) are sparkling radiantly as if to try to crown their last glory.

Autumnal tints: Engaku-ji

A blaze of autumn leaves is covering the approach to the modest wooden gate leading to the Shariden (reliquary hall, National Treasure) and the Zen Dojo (training hall) of this old Zen temple. This gate is always closed not to allow outsiders to interfere with the quiet practice in the Zen Dojo.

The handwriting on the left wood plate hung on this gate reads "We advocate the Rinzai Roku." The Rinzai Roku is a collection of words by Rinzai Gigen (?-867), the founder of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. 

It has long been regarded as the most important scripture of the Rinzai sect and has been read as an essential model for Zen practitioners. 

Rinzai asserted the principle of "Furyu-monji," which is the notion that the status of enlightenment cannot be expressed in characters or discourses. In addition to this, he emphasized "Shishi-sosho," that is, the teachings and the way of Buddhism must handed down intuitively from a teacher to a disciple without words or letters in a mind-to-mind way by the use of "Koan" or "Zen mondo (Zen riddle)."

The the handwriting on right wood plate reads "the Dojo (training hall) dedicated to the Rinzai school."

The small black wood plate says that the strictest Zen practice called "Rohatsu Sessin" is currently being carried out in the Zen Dojo.

"Rohatsu Sesshin" is a Zazen practice held in memory of the Sakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment on the eighth day of December.

”Rohatsu” refers to the month of December and the eighth day of this month, and “Sesshin” means “to gather the mind”. In many Zen Dojo, it take places from the first day to the morning of the eighth day of December and is considered to be the most demanding period of training.

During Rohatsu Sesshin, the doors of the Zen hall are all closed and trainee monks must concentrate on Zazen meditation. A 45-minutes Zazen session and a 10-minutes sutra practice are repeated throughout the day and night.

Autumnal tints: Engaku-ji

Like a magnificent canopy for a Buddha hall, the brilliant cinnabar leaves of autumn are solemnly decorating the small shrine dedicated to a wooden statue of Sho Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokitesvara-bodhisattva).

Sho Kannon is one of the Avalokitesvara-bodhisattvas and saves the distressed people who are lost on the road to hell. He is always watching those people to surely save them in the blink of an eye at the voice of a call for help. 

When saving the afflicted, this "Sho Kannon" transforms into various forms, such as the Avalokitesvara Kannon (Thousand-armed Avalokitesvara), the Eleven-faced Kannon (Eleven-faced Avalokitesvara), the 33-faced Kannon (Thirty-three-faced Avalokitesvara) and so on, according to the types of salvation. To distinguish it from these transformed Avalokitesvaras, this archetypal deity is called "Sho Kannon" (Sacred Avalokitesvara).

With a heart of great wisdom and compassion, this Sho Kannon seems to be gazing calmly at the shining autumnal leaves that will soon fall and melt into the earth. He knows that all things are in a state of flux through the endless circle of birth, death and rebirth.

Autumnal tints: Engaku-ji