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Two minutes' walk along the main road from Engaku-ji, Tokei-ji (daily 8.30am-4/5pm; Y100) was founded as a nunnery in 1285 by the young widow of Hojo Tokimune. It's an intimate temple, with a pleasing cluster of buildings and a profusion of flowers at almost any time of year: Japanese apricot in February, magnolia and peach in late March, followed by peonies and then irises in early June; September is the season for cascades of bush clover. Tokei-ji is more popularly known as the "Divorce Temple". Up until the mid-nineteenth century, when women were given the legal right to seek divorce, this was one of the few places where wives could escape domestic ill-treatment. If they reached the sanctuary, which many didn't, they automatically received a divorce after three years according to traditional temple law. Husbands could be summoned to resolve the dispute or, ultimately, sign the divorce papers. Some of these documents are preserved, along with other temple treasures, in the newly built Treasure House (Y300), including two books detailing the women's reasons for seeking sanctuary - unfortunately, not translated. At the back of the temple, take a walk round the peaceful, mossy cemetery hidden among stately cryptomeria trees where many famous and forgotten nuns lie buried. Continuing along the main valley almost as far as the train tracks, a sign to the right indicates Jochi-ji (daily 9am-4.30pm; Y150). The fourth of Kamakura's great Zen temples, founded by the nephew of Hojo Tokumine in 1283, Jochi-ji was almost completely levelled by the 1923 earthquake. Nevertheless, it's worth walking up the lane to see its beautifully proportioned Chinese-style gate which doubles as a bell tower. The small worship hall contains a trinity of Buddhas while, at the back, there's another graveyard, this time sheltered by a bamboo grove.
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