JOURNAL ãģ FIELD NOTES
The Hydrangeas of Meigetsuin â A Blue That Deepens in the Rain
In Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa, hidden in a small valley among the hills, there is a temple where blue lights up all at once, but only in the rainy season. It is Meigetsuin, the place people lovingly call the Hydrangea Temple. Around 2,500 himeajisai fill the approach, and beneath the grey monsoon sky the whole precinct sinks into a clear, quiet blue. In time, people came to call that colour Meigetsuin Blue.
Meigetsuin Blue, a colour all its own
There is something in the blue of Meigetsuin that quiets the heart. It is not the blue of the sky, nor of the sea, but a softer blue touched with grey, like the air just after rain. The himeajisai is a smaller-flowered variety, and when the plants stand together the colour reads especially pure; the shaded, water-fed soil of the valley deepens it further still. As you climb the approach, the blue rises gently from your feet to the far edge of sight. It does not show off. Quietly, yet unmistakably, it washes the whole precinct into a single shade, and it is precisely that humility that draws us in. When I stopped and steadied my breath, it felt as though something inside me, too, had turned a little more blue, a little more clear.
The rain is when it is most beautiful
Fine days have their charm, but the hydrangeas of Meigetsuin truly come alive in the rain. Droplets gather on the leaves, the flowers grow soft and wet, and the blue deepens a shade further. Look out at the garden through the round Window of Enlightenment in the main hall, and the blue blurs within a circle of light while time slowly comes undone. As an emergency physician whose days are spent racing the seconds, I found this precinct, where only the sound of rain remains, to be a place where the hands of the clock seemed suddenly to stop. Here, even the rain striking your umbrella becomes part of the stillness.
In the grey of the rain, the blue runs deepest.
Meigetsuin Blue is the colour of stillness.
Planning your visit â season
A few notes for the loveliest season.
The hydrangeas are usually at their best from early to late June, with the blue at its peak from the middle of the month onward. The exact timing shifts with the monsoon weather, so do check the latest bloom report before you set out. The season draws large crowds, and on weekend mornings the queue can stretch all the way back to Kita-Kamakura Station. For a calmer visit, arrive right at opening on a weekday, or come near closing time in the late afternoon. In June the temple opens earlier than usual, and admission may change for the special hydrangea period. As fees and hours vary from year to year, please confirm the latest details on the temple's official information.
Getting there
From Kita-Kamakura Station on the JR Yokosuka Line, it is about a ten-minute walk along the road that follows the railway. Leave the station and continue toward Kamakura, and the approach to Meigetsuin appears on your left. Kita-Kamakura has long been a quiet district full of temples, and the walk from the station to the gate is itself a lovely way to spend an early-summer morning. As the hydrangea season is busy, please allow plenty of time and try to arrive early in the day.
Tips for photographers
To bring out Meigetsuin Blue, choose an overcast day or light rain rather than full sun. The softer light keeps the blue pure and helps avoid blown-out highlights. Dialing the exposure down just slightly renders the blue calmer and deeper. On rainy days, let the droplets on the leaf tips and the beads of water on the petals take the lead to convey that moist, hushed air. The steps of the approach work beautifully as a way to layer the blue into depth. If you are after the round Window of Enlightenment, the quiet moments right after opening let you compose without a long line. And don't forget to guard your umbrella and lens against the rain.
While you're in the area
Kita-Kamakura is a district of great temples, all within walking distance of one another. Just beside Meigetsuin stands the magnificent Engakuji, while nearby are Tokeiji, long known as a refuge temple and lovely with seasonal flowers, and Hasedera, a celebrated hydrangea spot a little farther on. Following the road along the railway from temple to temple, an unhurried day in early-summer Kamakura is sure to become a memory you will not soon forget.
The clear blue of the Hydrangea Temple, deepening in a rainy-season valley. We deliver this scene as a silver-halide print on FUJICOLOR's finest photographic paper, with shipping available worldwide.
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