Tōkei-ji, Buddhist nunnery in Kamakura, Japan
Tōkei-ji is a Buddhist nunnery in Kamakura set on a forested hillside with buildings spread across several levels. The grounds include a main hall housing a seated Buddha statue, stone pagodas, and traditional gardens that bloom with plum blossoms, hydrangeas, or autumn leaves depending on the season.
Kakusan-ni, widow of Hōjō Tokimune, founded this nunnery in 1285 as a refuge for women seeking divorce. Staying within the walls for three years granted them legal separation, which remained the sole option for women until laws changed in 1873.
The cemetery holds graves of thinkers like Kitarō Nishida and Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, who shaped Japanese philosophy and brought Zen studies to Western audiences. Their resting places still draw visitors interested in Japanese intellectual life.
The grounds are about a 20-minute walk from Kita-Kamakura station on the JR Yokosuka Line. Paths include steps and gentle slopes that can become slippery when wet.
For over six centuries, this nunnery offered the only legally recognized path to divorce for women in feudal Japan. That role ended only with the modernization of family law in the late 19th century.
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