Jufuku-ji Temple

Overview

Jufuku-ji (寿福寺, じゅふくじ) is a Buddhist temple in the Ōgigayatsu district of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. It belongs to the Kenchō-ji branch of the Rinzai sect and is the oldest Zen temple in Kamakura. The temple’s full formal name is Kikokuzan Kongō Jufuku Zenji (亀谷山金剛寿福禅寺).

Jufuku-ji holds the third rank among the Kamakura Gozan (鎌倉五山), the city’s five most prestigious Zen temples. It is also a stop on three pilgrimage circuits: number 24 of the Thirty-Three Kamakura Kannon (鎌倉三十三観音, Kamakura Sanjūsan Kannon), number 18 of the Kamakura Twenty-Four Jizō (鎌倉二十四地蔵, Kamakura Nijūyon Jizō), and one of the Thirteen Buddhist Sites of Kamakura. The temple’s main object of worship is Shaka Nyorai, the historical Buddha.

History

Jufuku-ji was founded in 1200, in the second year of the Shōji era (正治), during the Kamakura period (1185–1333). The temple’s founding is tied to the Hōjō clan, the de facto rulers of the Kamakura shogunate. Hōjō Masako, the widow of the first shōgun Minamoto no Yoritomo, established the temple in memory of her husband, who had died the previous year.

The first abbot was the Chinese monk Eisai (栄西), who had brought Rinzai Zen from Song-dynasty China to Japan. Eisai had already built Shōfuku-ji in Hakata and Kennin-ji in Kyoto, but Jufuku-ji became the first Zen temple in Kamakura itself. The temple’s early years were closely tied to the Hōjō family, who patronised it as a family temple.

Over the centuries, Jufuku-ji suffered repeated destruction. The original buildings were lost to fire, and the temple was rebuilt several times. The current structures date from the Edo period and later, though the temple grounds retain the layout of its medieval foundation.

What Stands There Today

The temple complex sits on a hillside in Ōgigayatsu, approached by a stone staircase flanked by ancient cedar trees. The main hall, or butsuden, houses the central image of Shaka Nyorai. Adjacent to it stands the hōjō, the abbot’s quarters, which is not generally open to the public.

The grounds contain a number of graves and memorial stones. Among them is the grave of Hōjō Masako herself, as well as that of her father, Hōjō Tokimasa, the first regent of the shogunate. The temple also holds the grave of the poet and warrior Minamoto no Sanetomo, the third shōgun and Masako’s younger son, who was assassinated in 1219.

A notable feature of the precinct is a stone monument inscribed with a waka poem attributed to Sanetomo. The temple’s cemetery also includes the graves of several later Hōjō regents. The site is quiet and largely residential in character, with few of the large tourist structures found at other Kamakura temples.

The Name in Japanese

The temple’s name is written 寿福寺, read in kana as じゅふくじ, and in romaji as Jufuku-ji.

• 寿 (ju) — “longevity” or “good fortune.” In this word it carries the sense of a long, blessed life. The character is also used in the common greeting 寿 (kotobuki), meaning “congratulations” or “celebration.”
• 福 (fuku) — “good fortune” or “blessing.” This is the same fuku found in the lucky charm お守り (omamori) and in the name of the god of wealth, 福の神 (Fuku no Kami). Together with 寿, it forms the compound 寿福 (jufuku), meaning “long life and good fortune.”
• 寺 (ji) — “temple.” This is the standard suffix for Buddhist temples in Japanese, as in 建長寺 (Kenchō-ji) or 円覚寺 (Engaku-ji). The reading ji is the on’yomi, the Sino-Japanese reading; the kun’yomi is tera, as in お寺 (otera), the everyday word for a temple.

The full formal name, Kikokuzan Kongō Jufuku Zenji (亀谷山金剛寿福禅寺), adds three more elements: 亀谷山 (Kikokuzan), meaning “Turtle Valley Mountain,” the temple’s mountain name; 金剛 (Kongō), meaning “diamond” or “thunderbolt,” a term from esoteric Buddhism; and 禅寺 (zenji), meaning “Zen temple.” The mountain name refers to the valley in which the temple sits, and the full name is used in formal documents and liturgical contexts.

Visiting and Context

Jufuku-ji is located a short walk from Kamakura Station, on the eastern side of the city near the Ōgigayatsu residential area. The temple is less crowded than the major sights of Kamakura, such as the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in or the Tsurugaoka Hachimangū shrine, and retains a contemplative atmosphere.

The temple is one of the oldest Zen institutions in Japan, predating the more famous Kenchō-ji and Engaku-ji, which were founded later in the Kamakura period. Its ranking as third of the Kamakura Gozan reflects its historical importance, even though the current buildings are modest compared to those of its higher-ranked neighbours.

For pilgrims walking the Thirty-Three Kamakura Kannon circuit, Jufuku-ji is the twenty-fourth stop. The temple also participates in the Kamakura Twenty-Four Jizō circuit, dedicated to the bodhisattva Jizō, and the Thirteen Buddhist Sites of Kamakura. Visitors can receive the appropriate stamp, or shuin (朱印), at the temple office.

The temple grounds are open to the public during daylight hours, and admission is free. The cemetery, however, is a place of active worship, and visitors are expected to keep to the main paths and refrain from photography of the grave markers. The stone staircase leading up to the main hall is steep, and the site is not fully accessible to those with mobility difficulties.