A wonderfully nice girl named Nanao in my Literature class organized a trip to Kamakura ^_^
Kamakura is famous because of the rich history (location of the Shogunate and the Regency in the Kamakura period [1185-1333]) and because there are many temples, a huge Buddha, and a lot of nature.
We first went to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu, a very famous Shinto shrine. The original shrine was built in 1063 by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi in Zaimokuza, Kamakura. But Minamoto no Yoritomo ( the founder of the shogunate in Kamakura) was the one to build it in the current location...
There are two gates leading to the shine, and if you walk from the first to the second the path actually gets narrower as to make the shrine at the end look even bigger. The path is lined with cherry trees which must be absolutely beautiful in the spring.
The original shrine (built by Yoriyoshi) was much smaller and if I remember correctly Nanao brought us to the original later in the day...but it may have just been another shrine...there are shrines everywhere in Kamakura....
At the temple we did the typical cleansing which involves first washing your left hand, then your right, then pouring water into your left hand and using it to rinse your mouth, then rewashing your left hand, then lifting the ladle in a certain way to rinse the handle.
After cleansing you climb tot he top!
At the top of the shrine you get to pray for whatever you like, with the two claps and bow (or two claps two bows???) After tossing a coin in with other offerings of course.
Just outside of that building you can buy a fortune for ¥100. (They have them in English just for gaijin like me)
You can also buy a little wooden placard to write your prayer/wish on.
On the same property there was another shrine, which I only took a photo of for the guardians (komainu) on each side. The fox komainu protect Inari shrines, and white foxes are considered messengers of the kami(god/s)
I like this photo below a lot because of the birds ^_^ The building is the one below the main shrine up the steps. They hold wedding ceremonies there
We got lucky enough to see a wedding procession! I love the traditional wedding outfits ^_^
Below is another shrine on the same property. I think it might be one dedicated to the Minamoto clan (I could be wrong), the colors and emblems signify the family.
And these two pictures below are just pretty ☺
PS- I LOVE Ctrl+Z it saved this entire post ^_^
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