Tanuki-Mon

During May I took a family vacation to Japan, in which we visited Tokyo and Kyoto (and stayed in Osaka). I had lived in Japan when I studied abroad two years ago, but it was my family's first time there. As such, I largely took them to touristy sites, some of which I had already seen.

One of the places I really wanted to see again was the city of Kamakura. I visited it before because it was famous for so many temples, and I really fell in love with the city's charm. I had to see it again.

Kencho-ji Temple is ranked first among the Five Great Zen Temples of Kamakura, and it is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. In this picture is the Sanmon, the main gate, which according to legend was built with money collected by a tanuki (raccoon dog) who transformed himself into a monk to repay the kindness of the temple's priests. That's why this gate is sometimes called the Tanuki-Mon.