Kamakura Ebisu at Hongakuji Temple (本覚寺 鎌倉えびす)

What Is Kamakura Ebisu at Hongakuji Temple?

Kamakura Ebisu (鎌倉えびす) is a New Year event at Hongakuji Temple (本覚寺), a short walk from the East Exit of Kamakura Station (鎌倉駅), where people pray to Ebisu, the god of good business, for a prosperous year. Hatsu-Ebisu (初えびす) runs over the first three days of the year, January 1 to 3, and Hon-Ebisu (本えびす) falls on January 10, when the Hon-Ebisu prayer service is held at the Ebisudo Hall (夷堂). Hongakuji is a temple of Nichiren Buddhism (日蓮宗), and the Ebisu enshrined in its Ebisudo Hall is one of the Kamakura-Enoshima Seven Lucky Gods (鎌倉・江の島七福神).

Dates and Times

Hatsu-Ebisu usually runs from January 1 to 3, 9:00–16:00. Hon-Ebisu is held every year on January 10, and the Hon-Ebisu prayer service usually starts at 11:00. Admission to the temple grounds is by voluntary offering.

Highlights: Lucky Bamboo Branches Handed Out by the Fuku-musume

The highlight of Kamakura Ebisu is receiving a fukuzasa (福笹), a lucky bamboo branch, from the fuku-musume (福娘), young women who serve at the festival. They wear a golden eboshi (烏帽子), a tall ceremonial hat, and a chihaya (千早), a ceremonial over-robe. The fukuzasa is made from hoochiku bamboo (鳳凰竹) grown in the temple grounds and decorated with lucky charms such as gold coins, rice bales, sea bream and treasure chests.

As they hand over each branch, the fuku-musume chant together, “Shobai hanjo, kanai anzen, oinori moshiagemasu” (prosperity in business and safety for your household, we pray for you), and their voices ring across the grounds. Omiki (お神酒), sacred sake, is usually served by the fuku-musume as well. Nigiri-fuku (にぎり福), the temple’s popular good-luck charm, is also available.

The Ebisudo Hall and Its Ebisu

The Ebisudo Hall is said to have begun when Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝) enshrined Ebisu as a guardian of the shogunate at a spot lying in the ura-kimon (裏鬼門), the unlucky southwest direction, of the Kamakura shogunate (鎌倉幕府). The hall burned down when the shogunate fell, and Hongakuji was built on the site. The present Ebisudo Hall was rebuilt in 1981, and the Ebisu festival was revived along with it. Ebisu is usually shown smiling with a fishing rod and a sea bream, but the Ebisu of Hongakuji sits on a rock with his hands joined in prayer and a stern expression.

Visiting Tips

On Hon-Ebisu, people line up for the fukuzasa, and the branches can sell out by early afternoon. If you want one, go early. Traffic around Kamakura Station is usually restricted during the first three days of January, so the train is the most reliable way to get there.

Access: Visiting During Your Stay at Toshi’s Place

Hongakuji Temple is about a 5-minute walk from the East Exit of Kamakura Station on the JR and Enoden (江ノ電) lines.

If you are staying at Toshi’s Place, a fully unmanned smart hotel offering room-only stays with a full kitchen, take the Enoden from Hase Station (長谷駅) or Wadazuka Station (和田塚駅) to Kamakura Station and walk from the East Exit. Even amid the New Year crowds, you can leave by train, finish your visit in the morning and go on to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (鶴岡八幡宮) for hatsumode (初詣), the first shrine visit of the year.

Summary

At Hongakuji Temple over the New Year, you can receive a hoochiku fukuzasa from the fuku-musume on Hatsu-Ebisu and Hon-Ebisu and pray to the Ebisu of the Ebisudo Hall for a year of good business. For the temple’s everyday highlights, see Hongakuji Temple.

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