It is famous as a "flower temple" with flowers blooming all year round.
It has a garden designed by Muso Soseki.

Closed Day Open daily
Opening Times 9:00 ~ 17:00 
The principal image is open to the public.

 
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There is "Senju kannon Bosatsu (thousand armed kannon Bodhisattva)" who protects those born in the year of the rat.

Honzon
(
Principal image of the Buddha)

Shakyamuni buddha

(If you want to know more about Shakyamuni Buddha,Click here )

school Rinzai sect Enkakuji school
Founder (a person who provided financial support for the construction of a temple or a well-known person who lent support)

Musou Sosek
(If you want to know more about Musou Sosek,Click here)

Kaisan (the monk who first founded the temple, the first chief priest) Nikaido Doun(A leading figure in the Kamakura Shogunate)
Sangou (the name that is added before the name of the temple) Kinbyozan

 

Kamakura No. 4 in the 100 Flower Temples of the Eastern Regions
(It is said to be the best flower temple in Kamakura)
Spring

Violet orychophragmus(March to May)、cherry blossoms(March to April)、 milk vetch(April to May)、azalea,Japanese (April to May), wisteria(April to May)、Fragrant snowbell(May-June)、hydrangea(May to July)

Summer "Balloon flower(July to August)、Chinese Lizard's Tail(June to July)、bush clover(July to September)、cotton rosemallow(August to October)、cockscomb(July to November)
Fall Japanese anemone(September to October)
Winter narcissus(January to March)、Japanese camellia(December to April)、Japanese apricot blossom(January to March)、autumn leaves(November to December),winter cherry blossoms(October to December and April)

Kamakura 33 Kannon
Bodhisattva, No. 6

Senju kannon
(thousand armed kannon
bodhisattva)

(If you want to know more about
Senju kannon
(thousand armed kannon bodhisattva)
,
Click here)

Kamakura 24 jizo
Bodhisattva, No. 7

Dokomoku jizo
bodhisattva

(If you want to know more about
Jizo Bodhisattva,
Click Here)

 

 
 
 
 There is Hondo(a main hall). 

This temple was built in 1327 (Kamakura period).
Nikaido Doun(a senior vassal of the Kamakura Shogunate) invited Muso Soseki to be the first chief priest .
It is a two-layer roof architectural style .

 

Ashikaga Motouji (the fourth son of Ashikaga Takauji, the first Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate) was a follower of Muso Soseki, so he changed the name of the temple from Zuisen-in to Zuisen-ji. It is also said that it became the family temple of the Kamakura Shogunate Ashikaga family after this . (If you want to know more about family temples, click here . )

Ashikaga Motouji (the fourth son of Ashikaga Takauji, the first Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate) was a follower of Muso Soseki, so he changed the name of the temple from Zuisen-in to Zuisen-ji.
It is also said that it became the Bodaiji (family temple) of the Kamakura Shogunate Ashikaga family after this .
( Bodaiji :This refers to a temple where ancestors have worshipped and where the mortuary tablets of their ancestors are kept. It is also sometimes called a bodaisho.)

Muso Soseki・・・
(1275-1351) was a Zen monk of the Rinzai school .

He is said to be the creator of the dry landscape. He was also a landscape gardener, a Chinese poet, and a tanka poet.
He was the head priest of the Gozan temples (the highest ranking temples in Zen) eight times , including Engakuji temple, Nanzenji temple, and Jochiji temple . He also built six temples, including Tenryu-ji temple, Erin-ji temple, and Saiho-ji temple .
He built gardens at each of the temples he built.

Muso Soseki was deeply revered by " Hojo Takatoki " during the Kamakura period, and by " Emperor Go-Daigo ", " Ashikaga Takauji " and his younger brother " Ashikaga Tadayoshi " during the Nanboku-cho period.
He was given the title of "Kokushi" (an honorific title for a high priest) " seven times "by Emperor Go-Daigo(a nobleman) and the emperors of the Ashikaga clan(a samurai family) from both the Northern and Southern Courts . As a result, he was known to the world as "the Imperial Teacher of the Seven Courts. "

➂ He is world-famous as the " landscape designer who created Zentei(Zen gardens) and Karezansui(dry landscape gardens) .
" His gardens at Eiho-ji Temple on Kokei-san in Mino(gihu prefecture), Erin-ji Temple in Kai(Yamanashi prefecture), Tenryu-ji Temple and Saiho-ji Temple in Kyoto prefecture, and Zuisen-ji Temple in Kamakura have all been designated as Special Places of Scenic Beauty by the nation.

➃ He is also famous as a Chinese poet.
Eleven of his poems are included in the Waka and Imperial Anthologies of Waka.

 

 
① There is the principal image Shakyamuni buddha.
(If you want to know more about Shakyamuni Buddha,Click here )

There is Senju kannon(thousand armed kannon bodhisattva)
(If you want to know more about Senju kannon(thousand armed kannon bodhisattva) ,Click here)

There is a Thousand-Armed Kannon seated statue donated by Tokugawa Iemitsu (the model for Mito Komon) .
It is Kamakura 33 Kannon Bodhisattva, No. 6.


 

There is Kaizando((hall dedicated to the founding priest)

There is a statue of Muso Soseki .
It was created during the Nanboku-cho period (between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods).

It is a national important cultural property .
(If you want to know more about national important cultural properties, Click here )


 

There is Dokomoku jizo bodhisattva.
(If you want to know more about Jizo Bodhisattva,Click Here)
 

During the Kamakura period, a monk who was guarding the Jizodo Hall ran away from poverty. It is said that the " DokomoKu jizo bodhisattva " appeared at his bedside and admonished him, saying, "Everywhere is painful .
" The monk realized that " pain is the same everywhere, " and continued to guard the Jizo Hall.

It is Kamakura 24 jizo Bodhisattva, No. 7.


 

There is rock garden.

It is located behind the main hall.

This is a Chisen-kaiyushiki-teien style garden (a stroke-style garden around a big pond) created by Muso Soseki, who skillfully carved the rock walls and made it "only from rocks and cliffs . " This garden, which was created based on the idea of ​​Zen, is also said to be the origin of Shoin gardens .
The large cave is called" Tennyo-do(the heavenly maiden's carve)."It used to be called " Suigetsukan Dojo(training hall)" and was a place for training.

It has been designated as a national scenic spot .
The rock garden seen from the top of the cliff is also wonderful.


 

There is Henkai ichiran tei(building). 

This is a building built by Muso Soseki on top of a mountain in a rock garden .
It is said that monks from the Kamakura Gozan (the five most prestigious Zen temples in Kamakura) gathered here to recite poetry.The current building was built in 1935.

It is not open to the public.


 

There is Winter jasmine. 

The flower language is "blessing" and "elegance .
 (If you want to know more about winter jasmine, Click Here )

It is a natural monument of the city .


 

There is winter cherry  tree. 

It is said that this winter cherry tree was planted by Tokugawa Iemitsu.
The flower language is "calmness . "

(If you want to know more about winter cherry trees, Click Here)

It is a natural monument of the city .

 


 
 
There is a stone monument with a haiku poem on it. 

The temple is also associated with literary figures .

There is a monument to Yoshino Hideo . (A Japanese poet. His works include  "Kansenshu").

② There is a monument with a haiku poem by  Kubota Mantaro. (He is a Japanese novelist, playwright and haiku poet, and his works include "mizikayo" .)

 There is a monument marking the place where Yoshida Shoin stayed. (It is said that Yoshida Shoin visited Zuisen-ji Temple, where his uncle was the chief priest, on his way to Edo.)

 

telephone number
0467-22-1191
address
710 Nikaido, Kamakura City

Take bus number 5 bound for Daitomiya from the east exit of JR Kamakura Station and get off at the last stop, Daitomiya. From there it is about a 15-minute walk.

Zuisenji temple

710 Nikaido, Kamakura City

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