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Zen temples used to have a hall called Hatto in their seven major structures. In today's Kamakura, however, only the Temple has it. The building is called Nengedo {nen-ghe-doh}, the largest among the wooden structures existing in Eastern Japan, and dedicated to the statue of Senju {sen-jew} (Thousand-Armed) Kan'non Bosatsu or Avalokitesvara in Skt.; the Bodhisattva of Infinite Mercy. The statue ranks 28th of the Thirty-Three Kan'non Pilgrimage in Kamakura.
The building is an ICA designated by the Prefectural Government. Hatto is formerly a lecture hall, wherein chief priests expound scriptures and doctrines of the Lord Buddha to the priests yet to be ordained. Today, it is used for conducting a wide array of religious services. Also placed at the corner of the hall is a drum, which legend says was used when Yoritomo Minamoto went hunting at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
Bell-shaped windows with grids appearing on the front walls are called Kato-mado {kah-toh-mah-doh} (mado is a window), which are usually employed by, but not limited to, Zen temples.
For the Temple, the year of 2003 was the 750th anniversary of its founding. In commemoration, Hatto was repaired in August 2002. Also appeared on the ceiling a big dragon painted by Junsaku Koizumi {jun-sah-koo koh-e-zoo-me} (1924-), a Kamakura resident. It is called "Un'ryu" or "A dragon in the Clouds." The black and white painting, 10 by 12 meters in size, took Koizumi three years. The Temple held a consecrating ceremony of this new painting on October 30, 2002. A half year earlier in Kyoto, Ken-ninji, the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, celebrated the 800th anniversary and had Koizumi paint "A Twin Dragons" for its Hatto's ceiling. It is more than double the size of Kenchoji's.
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