Engaku-ji

Engaku-ji
円覚寺
The stairs leading to the Sanmon
Religion
AffiliationEngaku-ji Rinzai
DeityHoukan Shaka (Jewel-crown Śākyamuni)
StatusHead Temple, Five Mountain Temple (Kamakura)
Location
Location409 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture
CountryJapan
Geographic coordinates35°20′16″N 139°32′51″E / 35.3377°N 139.5475°E / 35.3377; 139.5475
Architecture
FounderHōjō Tokimune and Mugaku Sogen
Completed1964 (Reconstruction)
Website
http://www.engakuji.or.jp/ (in Japanese)

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. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture to the south of Tokyo.

Founded in 1282 (Kamakura period, the temple maintains the classical Japanese Zen monastic design, and both the Shariden and the Great Bell (大鐘, Ogane) are designated National Treasures. Engaku-ji is one of the twenty-two historic sites included in Kamakura's proposal for inclusion in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

It is located in Kita-Kamakura, very close to Kita-Kamakura Station on the Yokosuka Line, and indeed the railway tracks cut across the formal entrance to the temple compound, which is by a path beside a pond which is crossed by a small bridge.


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