STORYWALK
The Sea That Carried Kamakura
The Kannon, the Great Buddha's roof, and the story of a sweet
Hear each place’s story in English — about a minute per chapter, right where it happened. An iPhone app.
Before you walk to the sea.
You are about to walk through Hase, in Kamakura, the place known for its Great Buddha. But the main character of this story is the sea. The further you walk, the clearer it becomes that everything here came from the water.
Hase-dera is said to have been founded in 736, in the Nara period. Its main image, a Kannon, is said to have drifted across the sea and come ashore here. Why a Buddhist image would arrive by sea—you will hear that at the temple itself.
Time moves on. In 1252, work began on the Great Buddha that still sits here today. But the roof that once covered him is gone. Who took it away? Here too, the sea shows its face.
In the seaside village, a hero is enshrined who fought on even after an arrow took one of his eyes. His name is Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa. Rice cakes offered at a strength stone named for him became a sweet that has lasted 300 years.
The road runs downhill to the beach. Once you have taken your first step, stand on the shore and look back. The Kannon, the roof of the Great Buddha, the story of a sweet—see how it was the sea that brought all of it.
From the station, down to the sea.
Start at Hase Station (Enoden line) and walk the chapters in order.
Walk in the order of the numbers. On the day, the app guides you to each next chapter.
5 chapters
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01 ・ 5 min walk from the stationHase-dera Temple
736 — The Kannon who crossed the sea1,300 years ago a Kannon drifted ashore from across the sea, protected by oyster shells.
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02 ・ 7 min walk from the last chapterKotoku-in, home of the Great Buddha of Kamakura
1252 — A Buddha seated in the sea breezeThis Great Buddha has no roof. Was it the wind that took it, an earthquake, or the sea itself?
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03 ・ 10 min walk from the last chapterGoryo Shrine, also called Gongoro Shrine
Heian period — The one-eyed hero and the seaside villageIn the place where you wait for a train to pass, a hero from a thousand years ago lies at rest.
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04 ・ 2 min walk from the last chapterChikara Mochiya, the rice cake shop
Edo — A strongman's sweet, 300 years onMochi offered at the strength stone was shared out among visitors—and became a sweet that has lasted 300 years.
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05 ・ 3 min walk from the last chapterSakanoshita Beach on Yuigahama
Now — The shore where it all beganThe Kannon, the waves that broke the Great Buddha, the tale of a strongman, all of it came from this shore.
Stand there, and you’ll hear it.
At 9.18 meters, this eleven-headed Kannon, a bodhisattva of compassion, is one of the largest wooden Buddhist images in Japan. Take a moment to look up at it. The temple is said to have been founded in 736. The statue itself is older: it is held to have been made in 721. But do you know where this Kannon came from?
The rest is in the app. Chapter one is free.
People in this story
Time, fees and getting there
- Start
- Hase Station on the Enoden line
- Time
- About 2 km on foot, about 1.5 hours
- Admission
- Temple fees apply (Hase-dera ¥400 etc.) — bring cash
- Getting there
- From Kamakura Station, three stops on the Enoden line to Hase, about 5 minutes
SourcesNon-fiction, based on official sources.
Hase-dera Temple (official site) ／ Kotoku-in (official site) ／ Agency for Cultural Affairs — Cultural Heritage Online ／ Kamakura City Tourism Association ／ Chikara Mochiya (official site)
Hear this story where it happened.
iPhone app — coming soon. Chapter one is free.