Setsudo 刹堂

Kamakura deja vu, honour to fierce female demons

For those familiar with the history and architecture of Kamakura, this small hall may evoke a sense of déjà vu. Setsudo, a tiny temple in the Hokekyoji complex in Ichikawa City, resembles temple architecture in the former capital. Some sources say that it was transplanted in the Edo era from Kamakura. Whether it was dismantled and reconstructed here, I don't know, as the sources I found don't specify. But it certainly looks like it, perched on a rise and surrounded by trees. The copper-roofed hall enshrines the ten magical, shape-shifting, fighting Rakshasas. According to Buddhist lore, these female fiends were transformed into defenders of the Lotus Sutra.