Kenchō-ji Temple, Buddhist temple in Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Japan.
Kenchō-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple in Yamanouchi, Kamakura, head of the Kenchō-ji branch and first of the Kamakura Gozan. Its main buildings run in a straight line from the Sōmon outer gate to the Sanmon, a two-storey gate with a dark plaque reading Kenchō Kōkoku Zenji, then the Butsuden and Hattō, whose green copper roof shelters a hall with a dragon ceiling. The Sōmon-to-Sanmon path runs diagonally because of the terrain.
The compound was founded in 1253 by regent Hōjō Tokiyori and Chinese monk Lanxi Daolong. It soon gained first rank among the five Gozan temples and shaped religious life in Kamakura for centuries.
The temple's name comes from the Kenchō era (1253), the year it was completed. Its founder, the Song-dynasty monk Lanxi Daolong, wrote the inscription on the 1255 temple bell, where the word "Zen temple" (禅寺) appears in Japan for the first time. The monastery itself, with its meditation hall, is closed to visitors.
The compound lies about 15 minutes on foot from Kitakamakura Station or is reachable by a short bus ride. Pathways run over gravel and stone slabs with some steps, so sturdy shoes help.
The temple bell, cast in 1255 by Mononobe Shigemitsu, is a National Treasure; its inscription, composed and brushed by Lanxi Daolong, contains the first known use of the word "zenji" (Zen temple) in Japan. The 1271 portrait of Lanxi Daolong is also a National Treasure, with a eulogy in the abbot's own hand.
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