KAMAKURA - Kencho-ji Zen temple

Kenchō-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura which ranks first among Kamakura’s so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the Kamakura Gozan) and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. These temples were at the top of the Five Mountain System, a network of Zen temples started by the Hōjō Regents. The temple was constructed on the orders of Emperor Go-Fukakusa and completed in 1253, fifth year of the Kenchō era, from which it takes its name.[ It was founded by Rankei Doryū, a Chinese Zen master who moved