Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

The sun is sinking steadily, making the sky aglow above the far horizon. Low-hanging masses of gray-blue clouds are tinged by the golden light of the setting sun while drifting quietly in the winter sea breeze. Soon, these dense clusters of clouds will catch the final, fleeting sparkle of the sun to emit their last fiery glow before darkness comes.

As the evening deepens over the quiet seaside, the rhythm of the waves is gently sounding all around and makes me feel the secret beating of the earth. I realize that I am standing alone here at this moment as a minute and illusionary being within the infinite universe.

The calm waves, lighted dully by the setting sun, are washing the sandy shore one after another. The setting sun continues painting the ever-changing tableau of a majestic winter seascape before night's curtain falls finally.

Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

The city of Kamakura was the ancient capital with a seafront, and its maritime landscape shaped its essential character. This old city of a military aristocracy was a natural fortress surrounded by mountains on its three sides (the east, north, and west) and the sea of Sagami Bay.

The sea also served as the gateway for overseas trade and cultural exchange. In the medieval period, Yuigahama and Zaimokuza Beach (the coastal zone) of Kamakura flourished as a commercial port, and its Wakae Island is Japan's oldest port construction site. This small island is man-made and is currently situated beneath the surface of the sea.

Development of seaborne trade advanced during the period of Hojo Yoshitoki (1183-1242). He was the third Shikken (regent) of Kamakura Bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun).

Various commodities and knowledge were imported from the Southern Sung Dynasty in China. Along with such trades, Zen monks from the Southern Song Dynasty arrived in Kamakura to convey the teachings of Zen.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, Zen Buddhism flourished, with the Rinzai School at its core, where Koan meditation became the mainstream practice. 

The visiting Zen monk "Rankei Doryu" introduced authentic Zen Buddhism to Japan. The teachings of Southern Song Zen exerted a profound influence on Japan (particularly the Kamakura samurai), playing a decisive role in the subsequent development of Zen Buddhism of Japan, including the establishment of the representative Zen temples in Kamakura.

The central dogmas of Zen teachings, namely, Mujo (impermanence), Muga (selflessness), and Hudoshin (unshakable mind), were received sincerely by the Samurai warriors who lived in the harsh world of the war as the moral codes of Samurai (Bushi-do).

Zen provided “a mind unafraid of death,” “concentration on the present moment,” and “selfless, quiet courage,” which brought about the ideal spiritual principle for Bushi warriors (Samurai).

It can be said that the seashore of Kamakura welcomed Zen Buddhism, and its sturdy spirituality illuminated the path of life for Japan's Bushi warriors.

Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

The sea has no boundaries, and its end is invisible. When faced with this vastness, people must feel the smallness of their own existence, yet conversely, their minds feel liberated from the narrow prison of the soul.

The sight of the sunset sinking into the sea is the moment when the finite (myself) and the infinite (the sea and sky) melt into one completely. Gradually, the contour of myself fades out, and the boundary between myself and the endless world disappears.

The ever-changing scenery, where the sea, the sky, the clouds, and the sinking sun blend together, quietly conveys the sense that “everything is interconnected” in the whole universe.

It may be an experience of awaking parallel to the "Ichinyo" (absolute oneness) described in the Zen teachings.

Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

Dusk gradually falls over the sea, and the low murmur of waves and breezes invites me to the evening shore.

I stand still on the beach at eventide, watching the sun slowly sinking beyond the far horizon and the evening sky glowing with beautiful golden hues.

The limitless seascape arouses the enigmatic nostalgia for the distant, unknown birthplace from which I might have arrived at this seacoast of the earth.

 

Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

 

Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

 

Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

 

Sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

 

Sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)

 

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

With the arrival of late autumn, in which graceful autumn foliage begins, the clear and crystal air and the beautiful and ever-flowing clouds are dominating the sky overwhelmingly.

The gradually setting sun beyond the horizon is definitely painting the evening sky in front of eyes with the transient and subtle colors.

The rapidly changing lights of the setting sun are creating the glorious feast of colours with their endless delicate gradations. Such gradations of colours and sunlights are changing swiftly from moment to moment to let us awake to the very prompt transitoriness of our lives in this vast universe. 

See the rapidly sinking sun over the sea. This spectacle poignantly enlightens us all about our impermanence more than any other doctrine.

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

The glow of the sunset is creating various bright colours with continuous gradations over the horizon. This exquisite tones of colour and light are changing constantly every second and are creating the remarkable moments of beauty that I can encounter only once in my life time.

The bright evening sun, which is silently and ceaselessly setting, are tinting the evening sky over the sea with varied glowing colors through the thick layers of atmosphere. 

The fine and delicate colours and tones, like those of Monet's paintings of impressionism, are constantly undergoing swift transformation before my eyes. 

They subtly keep changing while being accompanied by the soft sounds of the sea wind and undulating waves, and continue to create the radiant scapes of light and darkness on the far horizon.

　

I wish this incredible moment of the sunset could last forever, but, I know, in our transient world, that is impossible.

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

 

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

The evening sea breeze is flowing slowly over the calm surface of the sea, which is illuminated by the soft scarlet light of the setting sun pouring down through the thick moving clouds. The fine ripples of the sea are shinning faintly like the glossy silk fabric which covers the open sea.

A lone seagull was standing still on the edge of the waves and gazing at me as if to try to say something important just before flying away swiftly.

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

The darkness of the evening is deepening steadily and the gentle waves continue washing the sandy shore endlessly. The chilling sea breeze is lightly touching my cheek as if to let me know the time for leaving this beach.

Like a half-corroded mirror surface, the seawater that remains on the sand is reflecting the scarlet light of the setting sun, the drifting clouds, and the pale blue sky, which must quietly disappear before the arrival of the night.

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

Thanks to the varying glow of the setting sun and the continuous shape-shifting of the evening clouds, the enchanting seascape at dusk appears every moment before my eyes.

The coldness and dryness of early winter bring about the transparent air far above the sea, which makes it possible to clearly see the splendid transformation of the twilight clouds and the ephemeral brilliance of the declining sun.

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

 

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

 

Sunset：Zimokuza-beach

 

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach

 

Sunset：Yuigahama-beach