Sugimotodera Temple The Thatched Main Hall in the Serene Precinct Recalls Ancient Times Established approximately 450 years before the founding of the Kamakura shogunate, Sugimotodera Temple is the oldest temple in Kamakura. The main hall has a thatched roof. All three principal images of the Buddha at the temple are eleven-faced Kannon statues. Two of them are designated as important cultural properties by the Japanese government. Visitors are allowed to enter the main hall to view these statues. These three Kannon statues are called “The Kannons under the cedar tree.” Legend has it that the three Kannon statues walked to the shelter of a cedar tree when the temple caught fire in the Kamakura Period. This is the first temple of the Bando 33 Kannon Pilgrimage