Goryō Shrine, known as Gongorō

photo by Ocdp · CC0

On 18 September the procession of the ten masks comes out; no photography in the grounds.

The Enoden passes a metre from the torii, and that is why the shrine has ended up in half a million photographs. ⚠️ But inside the grounds photography is forbidden (the sign says ‘境内は撮影禁止’, and it hangs at more than one entrance), and the hydrangeas beside the track, the ones in the classic shot, have been cut right back. What remains, and what no guide tells you about, comes out of the gate once a year: ten men with ten wooden masks.

Dedicated to Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa, a warrior of the Kamakura clan, hence the alternative name Gongorō-jinja. On 18 September it holds the 面掛行列, a procession of ten masked figures whose masks are kept in the shrine's treasure house: it is an Intangible Folk Cultural Property designated by Kanagawa Prefecture.

ℹ️ Grounds open and always accessible. The treasure house is open 9:00–17:00 and costs 100 yen for adults, 50 for elementary, junior high and high school students. ⚠️ **Photography prohibited throughout the grounds**: the train in front of the torii can only be photographed from outside. Hase Station on the Enoden Line, five minutes on foot.

🚉 Hase · 4 min walk

Sources: trip-kamakura.com · kanagawa-kankou.or.jp · 4travel.jp · jw-webmagazine.com

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