Date &Time: Monday, June 24, 10:40a.m. to 5:40p.m.
Route: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Houkokuji Temple/Kisenan (tasting Matcha or powdered green tea), Jomyoji Temple, The Great Buddha, Hasedera Temple
Visitor: American married couple in their 60’s
Guide: One KSGG member
Language: English
Lucia and Sal live in Rhode Island, a state in the New England region of the United States. Lucia, a native New Yorker, was so bright and active. Her husband, Sal, was gentle and thoughtful. He studied philosophy and religion at a university, having a great interest in and a deep understanding of Japanese history as well as religion. This year, when they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, they realized the long-cherished dream, a journey to Asia including Japan. Besides, as Lucia overcame her chronic disease and this year was a milestone for her. “We did our best to get through the difficult time. Being here is a big blessing for me!” she said again and again. It seemed that she literary tried to absorb all that she saw and heard in Japan, the country of longing for her, with all her senses.
This day was the most humid and hottest in this summer. The guide cared about their physical conditions, but their energy and passion inspired the guide. It seemed that trips by bus, the lunch time, the tea break in Jomyoji Temple and the cool environment in bamboo trees at Houkokuji Temple relieved their fatigue a little. They ate whitebait bowls for lunch. They used chopsticks for the first time. Although they tried hard to use the chopsticks, as using the chopsticks for the beginners seemed to be difficult, they replaced the chopsticks for wooden spoons.
When Sal saw The Great Buddha, he asked the guide seriously, “You explained The Great Buddha is Amitabha Tathagata, and he brings salvation to all over the world. Does he bring salvation to non-Buddhists as well as Buddhists?” “Good question!” responded the guide, but the guide was taken aback by his question.
Initially, they didn’t intend to go to Hasedera Temple. Just before the tour started, she happened to see a picture in a travel book, which attracted her interest because she is involved in child education. Lucia requested, showing the picture of statues of 1000 Jizo bodhisattvas[1] at Hasedera Temple. Therefore at the start of the tour this morning, “We want to look at these Buddhist statues.”
The tour started an hour earlier than the initial schedule. You can enjoy a lot of hydrangeas in Hasedera Temple around June, so the temple was open 30 minutes longer than usual by the end of June 23, which meant the temple accepted visitors until 5:00 p.m. The guide said the tour would be a whirlwind one and it would end later than their initial schedule at the end if the visitors would visit Hasedera Temple. They agreed to the change of the plan. The temple was still bustling with a lot of people at around 4:30 p.m. They rushed around the temple except the place of the statues, where the visitors had a strong desire to visit. When Lucia looked at the statues, she seemed to be deeply impressed. Perhaps she sympathized with the parents’ love toward their child being poured into each statue. It was a good decision to revise the initial plan.
The heartwarming tour of Kamakura ended, and they came back to Kamakura Station on the Enoden Line at about 5:30 p.m. They all changed to the Yokosuka Line. The guide parted from the visitors at Yokohama Station, saying, “Have a nice trip to Takayama and Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture from the day after tomorrow.” The destination is a place of longing for them.
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Note 1: Jizo bodhisattva is said to be a guardian of children, so parents who have lost babies and young children dedicate the statues of Jizo bodhisattvas to comfort their souls. See the photo below.