In kamakura there are five major Buddhist temples, which were part of the religious-political nature, called Gozan, or "Five mountains", or "Five Great Zen temples". The temple of Cante-JI temple is the first in kamakura "great" five, this is the oldest Zen monastery and a sample by which to judge, what were the Zen monasteries in medieval Japan. Its "five great temples in Kyoto.

System Gozan was adopted from China, at its Foundation consisted of temples and monasteries, which were financed by the state. They were located in a mountainous area, and this is reflected in the system's name "Five mountains". In Japan it has developed in the kamakura period (1185-1333). The system served, on the one hand, the spread of Zen Buddhism, on the other, it was used by the ruling circles, in particular, for the dissemination of laws and decrees, and to monitor the situation on the ground. In kamakura in Gozan entered the churches of Kent-JI temple, Engaku-JI temple, Jofuku-JI temple, Jati-JI temple and Zone-JI.

Kante-JI temple was founded by Emperor Gofukakusa in 1253. Its name was in honor of the era – Cente. Monk is the founder of the temple was a Chinese Zen master of Ranka Darui, who came to Japan to preach his doctrine.

In the beginning of its history Cente-JI temple consisted of 49 smaller temples, but many of the buildings burned down in the fires that occurred in the XIV-XV centuries. The temple complex was restored in the XVI century, during the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Once a thriving monastery went into decline by the late nineteenth century, when the Japanese government began to pay more attention to the development of Shinto. Renaissance for Kent-JI came with the discovery in 1889 the railway line between Tokyo and Kamakura. Now in the monastery there are only 10 small temples.

In Kent-JI temple's main cultural value is the Buddha hall, which suffered from Tokyo's temple of Jodo-JI temple in 1647. The bell tower with a thatched roof, located nearby, dates from the XIII century and is a national treasure.

A number of premises of the monastery is closed to visitors. It is impossible to see how the lives of the Abbot or the monks comprehend the art of meditation. But it is permitted in the garden, broken poet, scientist and philosopher, the Muso Soseki, who lived in the XIII-XIV centuries. The juniper in this garden grew from seeds brought from China by the founder of the monastery Ranka Darui. Trees declared a natural treasure of Japan.