According to the copper monument dated 1692, the current garden was either created or renovated in the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate. There is a garden with a pond shaped like the character for “heart (Kokoro)” in the middle, which is located behind the abbot’s chamber, and the Daikakuike garden in Kaishun-in. The Daikakuike pond was created when the temple was built as a regulating reservoir in order to protect the precincts of the temple from flooding.
cultural property : historic sites and places of scenic beauty as natural monuments
type : places of scenic beauty, historic sites
8 Yamanouchi, Kamakura-shi, Kanagawa-ken 247-0062
Tel：0467-22-0981
This is the head temple of the Kencho-ji school of the Rinzai sect and founded by Hojo Tokiyori in 1253, the fifth year of the Kencho Era. The precincts are symmetrically arranged and Chinese junipers (Juniperus chinensis) are planted in a row in the garden in front of the Buddhist sanctum. The style of gardens with a study can be seen in drawings from 1678. According to the copper monument dated 1692 in the garden, it is presumed that it was either created or renovated in the beginning of the Edo Period. There is a hill running from the east to the north of the garden and a curved pond is at the bottom of the hill. There is a bridge to walk across to Nakajima (the central island) in the pond. Some stones are arranged on the central island here and there along with a lantern. There are dwarf conifer trees such as pines and yew plum pines (Podocarpus macrophyllus) as well as azaleas. A large Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) is towering in the middle of the garden and lush Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata) and maple trees can be seen on top of the hill. The garden is simple yet elegant.