Engaku-ji

Zuirokusan Engaku Kōshō Zenji (瑞鹿山円覚興聖禅寺), or Engaku-ji (円覚寺), is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains.

The temple was founded in 1282 by a Chinese Zen monk Mugaku Sōgen (1226-1286) at the request of the then ruler of Japan, the regent Hōjō Tokimune after he had repelled a Mongolian invasion in the period 1274 to 1281.

Its present form is owed to the Zen priest Seisetsu Shucho (1745–1820), also known as Daiyu Kokushi, who reconstructed and consolidated it towards the end of the Edo era.

In the Meiji era, Engaku-ji became the chief centre for Zen instruction in the Kantō region; Imakita Kōsen and Soyen Shaku were successively abbots in this period, and Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki was a student under them.

Zazen courses are still held in the temple, with open meditations sessions every morning (except for New Year's and early October) and every Saturday afternoon (except for August).

The large modern Butsuden (仏殿) (; main hall;[1]) at the center of the Engaku-ji complex was rebuilt in 1964, after it was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake.

It is dedicated to Hokan Shaka Nyorai (Shakyamuni with a Jeweled Crown), enshrined there, the main object of worship of the temple.

This bell and the one at Kenchō-ji are the only ones designated National Treasure in that category of crafts in the Kanagawa prefecture (also the only ones from the Kamakura period).

The structure is typical of kara-yo (Chinese-style architecture), also called Zenshu-yo (Zen-sect-style), introduced from China in the Kamakura period, with a style close to that of the Song dynasty.

Booths selling tourist items are located near the entrance, below the Sanmon, and there are refreshment facilities in the garden of the Shariden and at the platform where the Great Bell is located, from where there are extensive views across the valley to other temple complexes in the Kita-Kamakura neighbourhood, such as Jōchi-ji and Tōkei-ji (another temple of the Engaku-ji school).

Drawing of Engaku-ji from the Shinpen Kamakurashi
The Sanmon (main gate)
Emperor Fushimi's calligraphy on top of the Sanmon
The Butsuden (main hall)
Statue of Hokan Shaka Nyorai in the Butsuden
Kojirin meditation hall
Engaku-ji's Ogane (great bell) ( National Treasure )
Bentendo hall
Senbutsudo
The Shariden (reliquary hall) ( National Treasure )