An'yō-in (Kamakura)

The An'yō - in (Japanese安 养 院), whose full name is Gion -zan An'yō - in Choraku -ji (祇 园 山 安 养 院长 楽 寺) is, is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo school. It is named after the posthumous name of its founder Hōjō Masako. He stands in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan and is the third temple on the pilgrimage Bandō Sanjūsankasho.

History

Hōjō Masako founded in 1225 the Choraku -ji in rabbit Sasamegayatsu honor of her late husband, Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate. At this time the temple was part of the Ritsu sect.

As Nitta Yoshisada attacked Kamakura in 1333 and ushered in the end of the shogunate, the temple was burned to the ground. The temple was merged with the Zendo -ji and took its name and location.

1680 burned the temple ( Zendo -ji) again. After its reconstruction a statue of Senju Kannon was transferred (1000 -armed Kannon ) from the Tashiro -ji in Hikigayatsu in the temple. With the relocation of the Kannon Temple, both were merged.

Attractions

In the temple are statues of Amida Nyorai and Senju Kannon.

On the temple grounds is a 700-year- old Chinese black pine. Behind the temple there are two Hokyo - INTO. From the smaller is believed that it is Masakos tomb. The other is the oldest in Kamakura and is considered an important cultural property of Japan. The small cemetery of the temple there is the grave of the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.

The temple is also known for its azaleas bloom, which starts around the end of April (depending on the weather, about two to three weeks after the end of Cherry Blossom ).