やっと、11月の見学についてのレポート
Finally, A Report on my November Walk
Finally I am getting around to publishing my notes on the walk I took with the Shonan History Walking Club. I have a feeling that this is going to take more time than I have tonight, so please let me apologize in advance if you visit, and this description seems incomplete. I will be updating it over the next few days.
At any rate, to begin with, here is a brief synopsis of the day: At 10am on November 25, I met the group for the first time at the JR Kamakura Station, East Exit. After gathering, the group walked to the bus stop (about 10 meters away) to board the Keihin Kyuukou bus #7, bound for Zushi Station. We got off the bus at a stop called "Kamegaoka" (亀が岡)
Our course for the day aimed to take in the following stops, located mostly within the south-east quadrant of Kamakura City. Our first stops of the day, however, were located in Zushi City:
1) Kamegaoka Danchi 亀が岡団地
This was simply where we got off the bus. It was close to the trail we were aiming to catch, the Nagoe Kiridohshi, or the "Nagoe Pass." (Incidentally the word "Danchi" is a Japanese expression for a large, public housing complex. To get a look at what these things typically look like, have a click on this photo album that I found on someone else's amazing blog). I was quite excited about joining such a lively and friendly group, so I started snapping pictures right away.
2) Nagoe Kiridohshi 名越切通
The Nagoe Pass is one of the seven original passes on which one had to cross over in order to enter Kamakura City during Japan's Medieval Era. For the newcomer to Japanese History, Kamakura is famous for having been Japan's capital from the 12th to 14th centuries under the first dynasty of Shoguns, run by the Minamoto family heirs.
One reason Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate, chose to locate his new capital here was that the city was naturallly fortified by mountains on three sides and the sea (Sagami Bay) on the southern side. To enter the city on foot, a visitor had to cross one of the seven passes of which Nagoe Pass is the oldest. According to some sources (which remained unnamed by our group leader), another claim to faim for the pass is its dramatically steep, or "difficult" hills. For this reason, some claim the name of the pass was originally written with the kanji meaning "difficult" "難" - rather than with the kanji "名," which is used today. Although both are pronounced "Na," the former kanji "難" gave the pass name a literal meaming of "Difficult Pass" or "難超"
People who have travelled from central Kamakura to Zushi know that there is a tunnel between the two cities. Whether commuting or by car or train, one passes through this tunnel which sits directly under the Nagoe Pass. The tunnel, in fact, is called the Nagoe Tunnel “名超トンネル”.
3) Mandara Dou 曼陀羅堂 (Mandala Hall)
The Kanji for Mandara "曼陀羅" means "circle" in Sanskrit. In English this word is known as a "mandala." According to Wikipedia (!), "mandara" in Nichiren Buddhism refers to "a hanging paper scroll or wooden tablet whose inscription consists of Chinese characters and medieval-Sanskrit script representing elements of the Buddha's enlightenment, protective Buddhist deities, and certain Buddhist concepts..."
4) Choushouji Temple 長勝寺
5) The Nagoe Yasuragi Kai 名越安らぎ会
6) Kumonji Temple 九品寺
7) Fudarakuji Temple 補蛇落時
8) Myoukouji Temple 光明寺
At any rate, to begin with, here is a brief synopsis of the day: At 10am on November 25, I met the group for the first time at the JR Kamakura Station, East Exit. After gathering, the group walked to the bus stop (about 10 meters away) to board the Keihin Kyuukou bus #7, bound for Zushi Station. We got off the bus at a stop called "Kamegaoka" (亀が岡)
Our course for the day aimed to take in the following stops, located mostly within the south-east quadrant of Kamakura City. Our first stops of the day, however, were located in Zushi City:
1) Kamegaoka Danchi 亀が岡団地
This was simply where we got off the bus. It was close to the trail we were aiming to catch, the Nagoe Kiridohshi, or the "Nagoe Pass." (Incidentally the word "Danchi" is a Japanese expression for a large, public housing complex. To get a look at what these things typically look like, have a click on this photo album that I found on someone else's amazing blog). I was quite excited about joining such a lively and friendly group, so I started snapping pictures right away.
2) Nagoe Kiridohshi 名越切通
The Nagoe Pass is one of the seven original passes on which one had to cross over in order to enter Kamakura City during Japan's Medieval Era. For the newcomer to Japanese History, Kamakura is famous for having been Japan's capital from the 12th to 14th centuries under the first dynasty of Shoguns, run by the Minamoto family heirs.
One reason Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate, chose to locate his new capital here was that the city was naturallly fortified by mountains on three sides and the sea (Sagami Bay) on the southern side. To enter the city on foot, a visitor had to cross one of the seven passes of which Nagoe Pass is the oldest. According to some sources (which remained unnamed by our group leader), another claim to faim for the pass is its dramatically steep, or "difficult" hills. For this reason, some claim the name of the pass was originally written with the kanji meaning "difficult" "難" - rather than with the kanji "名," which is used today. Although both are pronounced "Na," the former kanji "難" gave the pass name a literal meaming of "Difficult Pass" or "難超"
People who have travelled from central Kamakura to Zushi know that there is a tunnel between the two cities. Whether commuting or by car or train, one passes through this tunnel which sits directly under the Nagoe Pass. The tunnel, in fact, is called the Nagoe Tunnel “名超トンネル”.
3) Mandara Dou 曼陀羅堂 (Mandala Hall)
The Kanji for Mandara "曼陀羅" means "circle" in Sanskrit. In English this word is known as a "mandala." According to Wikipedia (!), "mandara" in Nichiren Buddhism refers to "a hanging paper scroll or wooden tablet whose inscription consists of Chinese characters and medieval-Sanskrit script representing elements of the Buddha's enlightenment, protective Buddhist deities, and certain Buddhist concepts..."
4) Choushouji Temple 長勝寺
5) The Nagoe Yasuragi Kai 名越安らぎ会
6) Kumonji Temple 九品寺
7) Fudarakuji Temple 補蛇落時
8) Myoukouji Temple 光明寺
posted by annmerry at 9:35 PM
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