Guiding Shonan Village Center’s Guests around Kamakura

[Date and Time] Friday, March 4, at 9:00~17:00
[Spots] Hasedera Temple, Kotokuin Temple (Great Buddha), Engakuji Temple, and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine
[Visitors] 18 Buddhism group members, with 10 from the U.S., 3 each from England and China, and 2 from Japan
[Attendants] 2 KSGG members

Luckily, it was a nice day and we could see very beautiful Mt. Fuji covered with snow against the blue sky. The guests, who were in their 40’s through 60’s, were mostly　professors specializing in Buddhism, creating a calm atmosphere, and many of them could understand Japanese. At Hasedera Temple and Engakuji Temple, we were　asked for the first time to translate what the priest said. As his talk, which was not at all simple, was put into easy English by the other member, they were very much pleased. Also, they felt relaxed as it was a weekday and there were a few tourists at those temples. At Engakuji Temple, we were allowed to enter its Shariden that enshrines the ashes of Shakamuni, which we cannot normally get in. In addition, we were surprised that its chief priest kindly served us powdered green tea and confectionery in person. The guests were very happy with their precious experience, though they had not been accustomed to sitting on their heels. Our tour was through at 5 o’clock with a visit to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. We said farewell on the bus, and it was happy for me to be given a smile and a clap in appreciation. I could learn a lot from this tour including the fact that many people in the U.S. were deeply related with Buddhism and how difficult it was for me to interpret.