Second Annual Kamakura 10K

Those of you that have been The Japan Years readers for over a year may recall a post from April 2006 called Kamakura 10K, describing my adventures of getting up before dawn and heading over to Kamakura to catch as many temples and shrines as I could before noon. I walked so far that I decided to call the trip my Kamakura 10K.

With Nicki and Josh away in the States, I thought it would be a good time to get up before dawn and do it again. This time, though, I didn't want to rush my way through. Instead, I took it easy and visited fewer sites. Also, I set the camera in full-fledged manual mode, which is something that I rarely do but want to practice more to help improve my photography skills.

The Japanese Plum (Ume) Blossoms were in full bloom... what a perfect time to visit Kamakura. I want to keep my write-up pretty short and instead devote time to some of the pics, but I thought I would share a little about one of the temples I visited called Tokeiji.

When I arrived at Tokeiji Temple ("ji" means "temple" in Japanese, so I am being redundant), I paid my 100 yen entrance fee and received a small information sheet in English. Some excerpts from the sheet:

"Tokeiji temple in Kitakamakura, which used to be known as one of the five nunneries was founded in 1285 by a nun named Kakusan..."

"In those days when women had no right to seek divorce, the Shogunate designated Tokeiji as a sanctuary for women where a woman petitioner could obtain a divorce from her husband after she spent three calendar years at the temple. That was how it earned the nickname "Divorce Temple".

"Local people were also ready to help women seeking refuge at Tokeiji. They might say where the temple was to any woman running in the neighborhood, since they thought she was being chased by her husband."

"As time passed, more and more women turned to this temple. Many men were summoned to the local court and were made to write a note of divorce."

"Tokeiji is the place where men are deprived of their pride."

I actually laughed out loud when I read the last line. It was even written in bold to stand out on the page. Not that I find it funny, per se, especially since it took 3 years of living there before a woman could get a divorce. But I find it ironic that these days, many modern married men would argue that home is the place where we're deprived of our pride.

Kidding aside, now for the pictures (the rest are in the Gallery, dated 03/04/2007):

Three Flower Pots Along Wall

Ume Blossoms and Japanese Latern

Barbed Wire Along Hiking Trail

Free Advertisement for my breakfast

Small Statue Surrounded by Ume Blossoms