Date & Time: Thursday, March 6, 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Visitors: Japanese-American couple (60s) from Seattle
Spots: Hokokuji temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine, Hasedera temple, Kotoku-in temple (the Great Buddha)
Guide: Hiroko, a KSGG member
Language: English
The third-generation Japanese-American couple from Seattle toured Kamakura with Hiroko, a KSGG volunteer guide. The main purpose of their visit to Japan this time was to visit their grandfather’s hometown and explore their roots.
Their Kamakura tour started at Kamakura station, the meeting place with the guide, and they headed to Hokokuji temple.
On the way to there, they were impressed by the figures engraved on the manhole covers, and while taking pictures, they said that the designs of manhole covers in Japan were quite unique.
As they passed through the temple gate, the yellow-green moss in the gardens looked more beautiful because of the rain of the day before, and the bamboo grove was even greener and it seemed to cover the sky. The couple seemed to really like this bamboo garden.
At Kyukouan, a tea café in Hokokuji temple, they tried matcha tea for the very first time. The couple watched an instructor prepare the tea and, following her explanation, took the tea with last sips of soft slurping sound. When Hiroko told them the spiritual precepts of the tea ceremony, Wakei seijaku*1: harmony, respect, purity and elegant simplicity in English, and Ichigo ichie*2: one time and one meeting in English, they looked very moved by her explanation, and said, “The Japanese respect and value their tradition so much.” They said that they also cherish the traditional Japanese customs in Seattle, such as mochi pounding, matsutake mushroom picking, and rice bran pickling.
Then, at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine and Hasedera temple, they toured each precinct of them while enjoying various shade of blooming Japanese apricot flowers.
As the final destination of the tour, they visited a huge bronze statue called the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in temple. Hiroko extended to them all good fortune for the trip to discover their family roots and they hugged each other last.
*1 Wakei seijaku: In the tea ceremony, it refers to the practice of keeping the items and atmosphere of a teahouse in a clean state, in which the master and the guest relax and respect each other. This term expresses the spirit and state of tea ceremony.
*2 Ichigo ichie: Ichigo ichie is also an important concept in Japanese tea ceremony. It is a phrase that expresses an attitude to cherish a single encounter chance and moment. This phrase symbolizes the spirit of the tea ceremony and means that participants respect each other and value the atmosphere and conversation of the occasion.