Hokoku-ji Temple

Hokoku-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple of the Kencho-ji school in the Jomyoji district of eastern Kamakura. Its formal name is Koshinzan Hokoku Kenchu Zenji, and its principal image is the Shaka Triad. Because of the bamboo grove in its precincts, it is widely called the Bamboo Temple.

According to tradition, the priest Tengan Ekō founded the temple in 1334. Its patron is said to be either Ashikaga Ietoki, grandfather of Ashikaga Takauji, or Uesugi Shigekane, and the temple served as a family temple for both clans. Documents tied to the founder are designated Important Cultural Properties, and the temple became a component of a Japan Heritage story in 2016.

The highlight is the bamboo garden west of the main hall, where about 2,000 moso bamboo rise overhead along a quiet path. At the back of the grove, the tea room Kyukoan serves matcha and sweets while you look at the bamboo. Beyond it, medieval rock-cut tombs called yagura hold tombs said to belong to the Ashikaga family. A Sunday morning Zen sitting session is also held.

Allow about an hour. It opens at 9:00. Kenchō-ji and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu are nearby, so the temple fits well into a day of walking eastern and central Kamakura.