A renowned Rinzai temple of the Kenchoji branch in Kawaba Village, known as a "flower temple" for its seasonal beauty. Its head temple is Kamakura's Kenchoji, and it carries on the Zen culture of the Kamakura period as a temple of considerable standing. The grounds change color through the seasons — dogtooth violets and cherry blossoms in spring, hydrangeas in summer, and vivid foliage in autumn —…

Founded in 1252 by a disciple of Rankei Doryu, founder of Kamakura's Kenchoji, at the foot of Mount Hotaka. It developed as a Kanto Zen culture base alongside the Kamakura-period prosperity of Zen Buddhism. In the Muromachi period, under Uesugi patronage, it held prestige comparable to the Kanto Jis…