Kamakura

This volume about Japanese temples was published in 1910.

An excerpt from Chapter I:

THE TEMPLE OF SILENCE

I stepped into the desolation of the Temple of
Silence, Engakuji of famous Kamakura, that
Completely-Awakened Temple, under the blessing
of dusk ; it is at evening that the temple tragically
soars into the magnificence of loneliness under a
chill air stirred up from the mountains and glades
by the roll of the evening bell. I stepped in
Engakuji at the right hour. I had journeyed
from Tokyo, the hive of noise, here to read a
page or two of the whole language of silence
which, far from mocking you with all sorts of
crazy-shaped interrogation marks, soothes you
with the song of prayer. In truth, I came here to
confess how little is our human intellect I slowly
climbed the steps, and passed by many a tatchu
temple like Shorei An, Zoroku An dear is this
name of Tortoise Temple and others which
serve as vassals to great Engakuji, and finally
reached the priest hall to learn to my no small
delight that the opening ceremony of Dai Setshin
or " Great Meeting with Spirit " was going to be
held that night.

The year for the priests of the Zen sect, to
which this Engakuji belongs, is divided into four
parts, each called a Ge which is three months ; and
the two ges running from February 15th to May
15th, and from August 15th to November 15th,
called Gekan or Seikan meaning " Excused from
Rule," are the months of freedom for the daishu
as we call priests, while they have to strictly
observe every asceticism during the other two ges.
We call these " Within the Rule " or Seichu ; and
the most important time during the seichus is the
week of Dai Setshin which falls three times during
the period from May 15th to August 15th. Now
as this was the 14th of May I was to have an op-
portunity to be present at the Opening Ceremony
of the " Great Meeting with Spirit " which I had
wished to attend for some long time.