The pond called Byakurochi is on a path leading to the main gate and the natural landscape around the pond changes every season. There is also an old Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis) in front of the Buddhist sanctum. There is a garden near the abbot’s chamber and it is centered around a pond called Myokochi, which is shaped like the character for “heart (Kokoro).” All these places were designated as a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 1932.
cultural property : historic sites and places of scenic beauty as natural monuments
type : places of scenic beauty, historic sites
409 Yamanouchi, Kamakura-shi, Kanagawa-ken 247-0062
Tel：0467-22-0478
There is a ceremonial release pond called Myokochi at the bottom of the plateau for the reliquary hall behind the Buddhist sanctum. It is said that the garden with Hojo with a pond in the middle was created by Muso Soseki of the Rinzai sect in 1335.
The pond is made of a bored bedrock. A portion of the rock on the north edge of the pond, towards the mountain, is eroded as though waves carved it and it is called “Kotogan (Tiger head rock).”
The original landscape of the garden was lost when the Yokosuka rail line was built and a prefectural highway opened during the Meiji Era, so the plaza is no longer in a square shape but a symmetrical square pond still remains on the other side of the railway in front of the main gate. This pond is called “Byakurochi” and the stone bridge over the pond is called “Komabashi.” The stone bridge is connected to the straight path leading to the main gate. The path is surrounded by a thick forest of aged Japanese cedars (Cryptomeria japonica) which preserve the appearance of the old days.