What is "komyo-ji"

is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo sect in Zaimokuza, near Kamakura, Japan, the only major one in the city to be close to the sea. Kōmyō-ji is number one among the , a group of 18 Jōdo temples established during the Edo period by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and dedicated to both the training of priests and scholarly research. It is also the sect's head temple for the Kantō region. In spite of the fact it is a Jōdo sect temple, Kōmyō-ji has several of the typical features of a Zen temple, for example a sanmon (main gate), a pond and a karesansui ( rock garden).

Kōmyō-ji has always enjoyed the patronage of Japan's powerful and is the only Buddhist temple in Kamakura to have had the privilege of being a daimyo's funeral temple. It was chosen for that role by the Naitō clan, feudal lords from today's Miyazaki Prefecture whose tombs are part of the temple's compound.

The temple, besides the usual Buddhist cemetery, maintains a special crypt for the ashes of house pets and other animals, and twice a year holds in the Main Hall ceremonies in their memory. The crypt was created and is maintained by a group of veterinarian volunteers.

The temple holds occasional music concerts in its main hall, concerts that are announced in its Web site. For 3500 yen, visitors who make a reservation can try at Kōmyō-ji the vegetarian food the resident priests themselves eat. Entrance is free, with the exception of the sanmon, which can be visited only telephoning the temple, explaining the motives for the planned visit, making a reservation and paying a small fee.

Kōmyō-ji is the name of numerous Buddhist temples in Japan. Below is an incomplete list:

• , a temple in Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture

• , in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture