The Temple is thought to have been erected circa 1289 since Priest Ippen, the founding priest, visited Kamakura in 1289. He is also the founder of Ji sect Buddhism, of which head temple is Yugyoji located in Fujisawa city adjacent to Kamakura. Priest Ippen started his Buddhist career studying at Enryakuji, the mecca of Tendai Sect, but later began to believe in the Jodo sect, or the Pure Land Buddhism. Back at the time, people were suffering from various hardships caused by poverty, famine, epidemic, drought, civil wars and natural disasters. They were disappointed in their daily life and sought the paradise after death or rebirth in the paradise.
According to Jodo Sect preaching, Amida Nyorai (Amitabha in Sanskrit) and Bodhisattva would appear at the moment of one's
death and lead him or her to the Western Paradise should they believe in
the Amida Buddha. There are a number of pictures beautifully and realistically painted those days that show the Amida trinity and 25 Bodhisattva descending from the heaven to guide the dying
devout into the Pure Land Paradise. The Temple's name "Raiko"
denotes those trinity and Bodhisattvas coming down.
Priest Ippen advanced the Pure Land concept further, saying that reciting the name of the Amida Buddha, or "Nam-amy-dah-boots" called nenbutsu, give salvation to the faithful while they are alive, not after death.
Later in 1279, he combined Nenbutsu with dancing. This ecstatic dancing and
nenbutsu, easiest to practice among any sects, won a great popularity from the commoners. With his devotion and self-sacrifice, he travelled throughout the country as referred to as "a wayfaring priest" or "a priest of abandonment," and came to Kamakura, the nation's capital, in 1289 to spread his faith. Although denied to enter Kamakura by the Hojo Regent, he was well accepted by the people in Fujisawa, and gained momentum gradually. As a matter of fact, Ji Sect was at the forefront of Japanese Buddhism
in the 14th and 15th century. In Kamakura,
there are seven Ji sect temples including Kosokuji in Juniso and Betsuganji. For further details on Ji Sect, refer to Yugyoji.
Main Hall and Statues
The hall as well as the priest's living quarter is rather new built in
the mid 1990s. Enshrined inside the hall are the following:
A statue of Amida Nyorai, the main object of worship, carved in 1712.
At the left of the Amida Nyorai is a sedentary statue of Nyoirin Kan'non (Cintamani-cakra in Skt.) fashioned in the mid-14th century. Originally,
the statue was enshrined at Hokkedo Hall (the prayer hall for Yoritomo Minamoto, the founder of Kamakura Shogunate. No longer exists), but was brought here shortly after the Meiji Imperial Restoration of 1868 following the new Government's instruction to segregate Shinto from Buddhism. The statue is half cross-legged and has six arms to demonstrate that the Kan'non can save those who are suffering in the netherworld. According to the Buddhist teaching, we are destined to go, immediately after death, to one of the Six Stages of the World: Hell, World of Preta (hungry ghost), Realm of Beasts, World of Asura, Human Being and Heaven. Each arm of Nyoirin Kan'non is allocated to save those wondering souls
in that particular world. One of the right
hand touching her cheek, for example, is
for those in the Hell, and another right
hand with a peach-shaped fitting called Hoju (Mani in Skt.) in its palm is to save those in the world of Preta. The
statue is well-known with its unique decoration called Domon. It has patterns of flowers, peony and chrysanthemum in this case here,
put on the statue's robe to make it appear gorgeous. These are made of
colored clay and pasted with lacquer. Patterns are created by molds to
shape the decoration. Domon decoration is found only in Kamakura and cannot be found anywhere else. The statue is an ICA designated by Kanagawa Prefecture, and ranks fifth of the Kamakura Thirty-Three Kan'non Pilgrimage.
A sedentary statue of Jizo Bosatsu (Ksitigarbha-bodhisattva in Skt.) is enshrined to the left of the main
statue. This 131-centimeter-tall statue is believed to have been carved
by an excellent local sculptor named Joko Takuma (date of birth and death
unknown), who played a conspicuous part in the 14th century. Originally,
it was installed as the main object of Ho-onji , a Zen temple founded in
1371 somewhere near here, but was later abandoned. The statue is also an
ICA designated by Kanagawa Prefecture, and placed second in the Twenty-Four
Kamakura Jizo Pilgrimage.
At the corner of the hall is a standing statue
of Batsudabara, or Bhadra in Skt., one of the 16 Rakan (Arhat in Skt.). Paintings of one of Bhadra at MFA.
A notice in Japanese is seen on the front door, which reads: "The
statues are the objects of worship , not objects of art-appreciation."
Those who want to worship the statues have to sit before them in proper
manner. (i.e. with one's knees bent and with one's toes directly beneath
the body). Probably this is the common feeling shared by all religious
people. Those who follow the Temple's instruction, say the notice, are
requested to push the button near the notice. The admission is 200 yen.
Meanwhile, Kofukuji in Nara, which is on the World Heritage List, exhibited its Ashura and other related statues at Tokyo and Kyushu National Museum in 2009. This Ashura statue was enshrined at Kofukuji by Empress Komyo (701-760) in condolence of her mother's death. Since it was fashioned 1,300 years ago and has a unique figures, the exhibitions drew more than 2 million people, an unprecedented record. Revenues may have totaled over 2 billion yen, a big success for a business. Kofukuji secured enough fund to rebuild its structures. It was obviously exhibited as an object of art and many may have watched it out of curiosity. The chief priest of Kofukuji referred to it in his lecture presented in April 2010 for state-owned NHK radio, of which subject was "Prayer and Heart". He said that the exhibitions gave many viewers a big chance to appreciate the beauty of the Ashura and at the same time to think about Buddhism. I believe the priest of the Temple will of different opinion.
I visited the Temple on a weekday in February 2010 for the first time in
years. There was no one else in the Temple's grounds. As instructed, I
pushed the button and asked to let me in to worship the statues. A couple
of minutes later, an old lady appeared and opened the door for me. The
hall was kept clean. She made a brief explanation of all the statues enshrined
in the hall. I sit in front of the Amida statue and chanted 262-Chinese ideograms Hannya Shingyo sutra. All of the statue were so magnificent that I was just overwhelmed.
An Episode of the Batsudabara statue
Here is an interesting episode in connection with the Batsudabarastatue. It was modeled after a high-ranking priest at Kenchoji by name of Jikyu {gee-k'yoo}. While he was the chief priest of a sub-temple
called Kotokuan in Kenchoji, he fell in love with a boy servant at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. Boy servants are called Chigo {chee-goh} in Japanese, and pretty Chigo sometimes were kept by pederasts. Believe
it or not, the priest practiced pederasty
and he approached the Chigo to coerce him into sexual relations. Astonished, the boy fled to Enoshima, a tiny island off the coast of western Kamakura, where Enoshima Jinja, stands, and took his own life by throwing himself into the water. (Hence
the name of "Chigo-ga-Fuchi" at Enoshima). Immediately afterward,
Priest Jikyu followed suit and committed suicide.
Note: Kamakura Encyclopedia reads the temple was founded by Priest Ippen, while the Temple says founding
priest is Priest Ikko. Both were the great priests of Ji sect
The Temple is thought to have been erected circa 1289 since Priest Ippen, the founding priest, visited Kamakura in 1289. He is also the founder of Ji sect Buddhism, of which head temple is Yugyoji located in Fujisawa city adjacent to Kamakura. Priest Ippen started his Buddhist career studying at Enryakuji, the mecca of Tendai Sect, but later began to believe in the Jodo sect, or the Pure Land Buddhism. Back at the time, people were suffering from various hardships caused by poverty, famine, epidemic, drought, civil wars and natural disasters. They were disappointed in their daily life and sought the paradise after death or rebirth in the paradise. 
The hall as well as the priest's living quarter is rather new built in
the mid 1990s. Enshrined inside the hall are the following: