Zuisenji temple [瑞泉寺]

Zuisenji is a temple of Rinzai Buddhism which is one of the Zen Buddhism.
It is located about 1.8 km east of Tsurugaoka Hachiman shrine and in a valley.

The temple was established in 1327.
Later, it became the temple of Ashikaga family which seized power after the end of the Kamakura government in 1333.

The founder of this temple was Musô Soseki (1275-1351) and he was a Zen priest and a garden designer.

He built a Japanese garden by the main temple.
The garden is very unique.

There is a pond in the center of the garden and the pond is surrounded with rocky cliff.
A big cave is made on the rock.

This garden had been buried for a long time, but it was restored in 1970.

In addition, this temple is famous for flowers and blossoms.
In each season, ume blossoms (Janpanese appricot), azaleas, peonies, etc. are blooming.
Especially, daffodils are popular, and we can see them from late December to February.

Zuisenji

How to get here

By route bus, 8 minutes from JR Kamakura station (East exit) to Ootounomiya stop.
From there, 1 km walk.

Other Tourist Attractions in Kamakura

Central and western areas

Northern area

Eastern area

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