Meigetsuin Precincts

The Grounds of Meigetsuin: A National Historic Site in Kitakamakura

The grounds of Meigetsuin, set in a narrow valley called Meigetsu-ga-yatsu in northern Kamakura, were registered as a National Historic Site on February 9, 1984. Most visitors come for the hydrangeas that line the temple paths in June, but the precinct holds older ground: the rock-cut cave tomb of a regional lord, the traditional burial site of Hojo Tokiyori, and the remains of what was once one of the most prestigious Zen temples in the eastern provinces.

The site lies in Yamanouchi, the valley district that became a center of Kamakura-era Zen culture under the patronage of the Hojo regents. The current temple, formally Fukugenzan Meigetsuin of the Rinzai sect's Kenchoji branch, is the surviving sub-temple of a much larger complex that disappeared in the early Meiji period. What was designated in 1984 is the precinct itself: its layered topography, the medieval rock tombs, and the relationship between buildings and terrain that record nearly nine centuries of religious history.

Layers of History: From Heian Hermitage to Zen Headquarters

The story begins in 1160, when Yamanouchi (also written Sudo) Tsuneyoshi built a small chapel called Meigetsu-an to memorialize his father Toshimichi, who had died the previous year in the Heiji Rebellion. The Yamanouchi were the local clan whose name was given to this entire valley.

Just under a century later, the fifth Kamakura regent Hojo Tokiyori chose the same hillside for his retirement temple. In 1256, weakened by illness and stepping down from the regency, he built Saimyoji here as his retreat. He died in 1263 at the age of thirty-seven, and Saimyoji declined soon after his passing.

His son, the eighth regent Hojo Tokimune, known for repelling the Mongol invasions, refounded the institution as Zenkoji around 1268. He invited Lankei Daolong (Rankei Doryu), the Chinese Chan master who had earlier opened Kenchoji, to consecrate the new temple. The full name was Fukugenzan Zenko Gyosho Zenji. The foundation tied the site directly to the Hojo family's promotion of authentic Chinese-style Zen practice in eastern Japan.

In 1380, the Muromachi-period regional deputy Ashikaga Ujimitsu ordered the Kanto kanrei Uesugi Norikata to restore the by-then declining temple. Norikata expanded the complex, founded new sub-temples, and renamed Meigetsu-an as Meigetsuin. The temple's founder of record was the Zen monk Misshitsu Shugon, but the actual patron was Norikata himself. The name Meigetsuin came from Norikata's posthumous Buddhist title, Meigetsuin Tenju Dogo. Under his support, Zenkoji rose to head of the Kanto Jissetsu, the ten official Zen monasteries of eastern Japan ranked just below the Five Mountains of Kamakura.

Zenkoji disappeared in the early Meiji period during the haibutsu kishaku policy of forced separation of Shinto and Buddhism. Only Meigetsuin, the lead sub-temple, survived. The grounds visitors walk today thus contain not one temple but the compressed remains of four overlapping institutions: Meigetsu-an, Saimyoji, Zenkoji, and Meigetsuin.

The Meigetsuin Yagura: Kamakura's Largest Rock-Cut Tomb

The central feature of the precinct is the Meigetsuin Yagura, a large rock-cut chamber tomb behind the founder's hall. Yagura are the characteristic medieval rock tombs of Kamakura, carved into the soft sandstone cliffs that ring the city. Thousands survive across Kamakura, but the Meigetsuin Yagura is the largest known example, measuring approximately seven meters wide, six meters deep, and three meters high.

Inside, a tall hokyoin-to stupa stands at the center. Behind it, the back wall holds relief carvings of Shaka Nyorai and Taho Nyorai (Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna), the two buddhas who appear seated together in the Lotus Sutra. Sixteen smaller figures carved around them are read as the Sixteen Arhats, the disciples of the historical Buddha. This iconographic program gave the tomb its alternate name Rakando, or Arhat Cave.

The central stupa is traditionally identified as the grave of Uesugi Norikata, the temple's effective founder. Norikata died in 1394, and the tomb fits both the period and the iconographic vocabulary a Zen lay patron of his rank would have commissioned. A different monument near Gokurakuji is also called the Traditional Tomb of Uesugi Norikata, and scholars continue to debate which is authentic; the Meigetsuin yagura, however, is the one most closely tied to the temple's own institutional memory.

Hojo Tokiyori's Grave and the Bottle Well

Just past the main approach, set among the moss garden to the right, stands a small fenced enclosure marking the traditional grave of Hojo Tokiyori. A separate medieval worship hall, Tokiyori-byo, was built next to it. Tokiyori is remembered both as a capable regent and as the subject of the Noh play Hachi-no-ki, which dramatizes a tradition of his anonymous travels among the common people. Whether the remains under the marker are actually his is uncertain, but the location matches the historical record of where Saimyoji once stood.

Near the main hall is the Kame-no-i, the Bottle Well, counted among the Ten Wells of Kamakura. Named for its rounded bottle-like shape, it has produced water continuously since the medieval period. The Ten Wells designation is itself a local tradition recorded in Edo-period gazetteers, identifying ten historically significant wells across the city.

The Main Hall, the Round Window, and the Hidden Garden

The current main hall (hojo) was rebuilt in 1973. To its right, facing a small interior garden, is the temple's most photographed feature: a large circular window known as the Satori-no-mado, or Window of Enlightenment. The circle in Zen aesthetics represents the integrated, unobstructed view of reality. Through the window, visitors see a framed image of the rear garden that changes with the seasons, from the green of summer through the deep reds of mid-November.

The rear garden itself is normally closed to the public. It opens for two short periods each year: during the iris (hana-shobu) bloom in early June, and during the maple foliage in late November. A separate fee is charged at the inner entrance. The front garden, a karesansui dry landscape facing the hall, is visible year-round.

The hydrangeas for which the temple is best known are a twentieth-century addition. After the Second World War, the temple lacked stakes to mark the approach path and used hydrangeas instead. The flowers spread, deepened in color over generations of selection, and became the famous Meigetsuin Blue, a vivid azure from the Hime-ajisai variety. About 2,500 plants line the precinct, peaking in mid-June.

Visiting and Nearby

Meigetsuin is a short walk from JR Kitakamakura Station, about ten minutes along quiet residential lanes through the Meigetsu valley. The route passes close to Engakuji, Tokeiji, and Jochiji. Combining visits to two or three of these temples in a morning is a common itinerary.

Standard opening hours are 9:00 to 16:00. During the June hydrangea season the schedule shifts to 8:30 entry and 16:30 last admission, with crowds heavy enough that early arrival is strongly recommended. Admission is 500 yen for high-school students and above, 300 yen for elementary and middle-school students. The rear garden, when open, requires an additional 500 yen ticket sold separately at the inner entrance.