Kamakura, Kanagawa
Encyclopedia
is a city
located in Kanagawa Prefecture
, Japan, about 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called (short for ).
Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency
during the Kamakura Period
. Yet, despite Kamakura's annihilation of Kyoto-based political and military power at the Battle of Dan-no-ura
in 1185, and the failure of the Emperor to free himself from Kamakura's control during the Jōkyū War
, Takahashi (2005) has questioned whether Kamakura's nationwide political hegemony actually existed. Takahashi claims that if Kamakura ruled the Kantō, not only was the Emperor in fact still the ruler of Kansai, but during this period the city was in many ways politically and administratively still under the ancient capital of Kyoto
. Kamakura was simply a rival center of political, economic and cultural power in a country that had Kyoto as its capital.
According to The Institute for Research on World-Systems, Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 AD
, with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto
by 1200 AD.
As of March 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population
of 174,016 and a population density
of 4390 PD/km2. The total area is 39.6 square kilometres (15.3 sq mi).
Kamakura was designated as a city on November 3, 1939.
Kamakura has a beach which, in combination with its temples and proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination. Kamakura's bay has a surf break off of the headland point, albeit an inconsistent one, which makes it at least a second-tier destination for surfers. It is also noted for its senbei
, which are crisp crackers grilled and sold fresh along the main shopping street.
Surrounded to the north, east and west by hill
s and to the south by the open water of Sagami Bay
, Kamakura is a natural fortress. Before the construction of several tunnels and modern roads that now connect it to Fujisawa
, Ofuna
and Zushi, on land it could be entered only through narrow artificial passes, among which the seven most important were called , a name sometimes translated as "Kamakura's Seven Mouths". The natural fortification made Kamakura an easily defensible stronghold.
Before the opening of the Entrances, access on land was so difficult that the Azuma Kagami
reports that Hōjō Masako came back to Kamakura from a visit to Sōtōzan temple in Izu bypassing by boat the impassable Inamuragasaki
cape and arriving in Yuigahama. Again according to the Azuma Kagami, the first of the Kamakura shoguns
, Minamoto no Yoritomo
, chose it as a base partly because it was his ancestors' land (his yukari no chi), partly because of these physical characteristics.
To the north of the city stands (92 m (301.8 ft)), which then passes behind the Daibutsu
and reaches Inamuragasaki and the sea.
From the north to the east Kamakura is surrounded by (147 m (482.3 ft)), (159 m (521.7 ft)), (127 m (416.7 ft)), （141 m (462.6 ft)), and （120 m (393.7 ft)), which extend all the way to Iijimagasaki and Wakae Island
, on the border with Kotsubo
and Zushi. From Kamakura's alluvional plain branch off numerous narrow valleys like the Urigayatsu, Shakadōgayatsu, Ōgigayatsu, Kamegayatsu, Hikigayatsu, and Matsubagayatsu valleys. (The ending "ヶ谷" meaning "valley", common in place names and usually read "-gaya", in Kamakura is pronounced "-gayatsu").
Kamakura is crossed by the Namerigawa
river, which goes from the Asaina Pass in northern Kamakura to the beach in Yuigahama
for a total length of about 8 kilometres (5 mi). The river marks the border between Zaimokuza
and Yuigahama.
In administrative terms, the municipality of Kamakura borders with Yokohama
to the north, with Zushi to the east, and with Fujisawa to the west. It includes many areas outside the Seven Entrances as Yamanouchi, , Shichirigahama
, and Ofuna
, and is the result of the fusion of Kamakura proper with the cities of Koshigoe
, absorbed in 1939, Ofuna
, absorbed in 1948, and with the village of Fukasawa, absorbed in 1948.
's (JR) Kita-Kamakura Station
. Yamanouchi, however, was technically never a part of historical Kamakura since it is outside the Seven Entrances. Yamanouchi was the northern border of the city during the shogunate, and the important Kobukorozaka and Kamegayatsu Passes, two of Kamakura's Seven Entrances, led directly to it. Its name at the time used to be . The border post used to lie about a hundred meters past today's Kita-Kamakura train station in Ofuna
's direction.
Although very small, Yamanouchi is famous for its traditional atmosphere and the presence, among others, of three of the five highest-ranking Rinzai Zen
temples in Kamakura, the . These three great temples were built here because Yamanouchi was the home territory of the Hōjō clan
, a branch of the Taira clan which ruled Japan for 150 years. Among Kita-Kamakura's most illustrious citizens were artist Isamu Noguchi
and movie director Yasujiro Ozu
. Ozu is buried at Engaku-ji
.
Kamakura's defining feature is Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, a Shinto shrine located in the center of the city. A 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) runs from Sagami Bay
directly to the shrine. This road is known as Wakamiya Ōji
, the city's main street. Built by Minamoto no Yoritomo
as an imitation of Kyoto's Suzaku Ōji
, Wakamiya Ōji used to be much wider, delimited on both sides by a 3 metre deep canal and flanked by pine trees.
Walking from the beach toward the shrine, one passes through three torii
, or Shinto gates, called respectively Ichi no Torii (first gate), Ni no Torii (second gate) and San no Torii (third gate). Between the first and the second lies Geba Yotsukado which, as the name indicates, was the place where riders had to get off their horses in deference to Hachiman
and his shrine.
Approximately 100 metres after the second torii, the dankazura, a raised pathway flanked by cherry trees that marks the center of Kamakura, begins. The dankazura becomes gradually wider so that it will look longer than it really is when viewed from the shrine. Its entire length is under the direct administration of the shrine. Minamoto no Yoritomo made his father-in-law Hōjō Tokimasa
and his men carry by hand the stones to build it to pray for the safe delivery of his son Yoriie
. The danzakura used to go all the way to Geba, but it was drastically shortened during the 19th century to make way for the newly-constructed Yokosuka railroad line
.
In Kamakura, wide streets are called 、narrower ones , the small streets that connect the two are called , and intersections . Komachi Ōji
and Ima Kōji
run respectively east and west of Wakamiya Ōji, while Yoko Ōji
, the road that passes right under San no Torii, and Ōmachi Ōji
, which goes from Kotsubo
to Geba
and Hase
, run in the east - west direction. Near the remains of Hama no Ōtorii runs Kuruma Ōji Avenue (also called Biwa Koji). These six streets (three running north to south and three east to west) were built at the time of the shogunate and are all still under heavy use. The only one to have been modified is Kuruma Ōji, a segment of which has disappeared.
and stone tools found at excavation sites near Jōraku-ji were dated to the Old Stone Age (between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago). During the Jōmon period
, the sea level was higher than now and all the flat land in Kamakura up to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and, further east, up to Yokohama's Totsuka-ku and Sakae-ku was under water. Thus, the oldest pottery fragments found come from hillside settlements of the period between 7500 BC and 5000 BC. In the late Jōmon period the sea receded and civilization progressed. During the Yayoi period
(300 BC–300 AD), the sea receded further almost to today's coastline, and the economy shifted radically from hunting and fishing to farming.
The Azuma Kagami describes pre-shogunate Kamakura as a remote, forlorn place, but there is reason to believe its writers simply wanted to give the impression that prosperity had been brought there by the new regime. To the contrary, it is known that by the Nara Period
(about 700 AD) there were both temples and shrines. Sugimoto-dera
for example was built during this period and is therefore one of the city's oldest temples. The town was also the seat of areal government offices and the point of convergence of several land and marine routes. It seems therefore only natural that it should have been a city of a certain importance, likely to attract Yoritomo's attention.
Another and more picturesque explanation is a legend according to which Fujiwara no Kamatari
stopped at Yuigahama
on his way to today's Ibaraki Prefecture
where he wanted to pray for peace at the Kashima Jingu Shrine. He dreamed of an old man who promised his support, and the day after he found next to his bed a type of sword called kamayari
. Kamatari enshrined it in a place called Okura
. Kamayari plus Okura turned into Kamakura.
The name appears in the Kojiki
of 712. Kamakura is also mentioned in the c. 8th century Man'yōshū as well as in the Wamyō Ruijushō
of 938. However, the city clearly appears in the historical record only with Minamoto no Yoritomo and his shogunate of 1192.
The extraordinary events, the historical characters, and the culture of the twenty yearswhich go from Minamoto no Yoritomo's birth to the assassination of the last of his sons have been throughout Japanese history the background and the inspiration for countless poems, books, jidaigeki
TV dramas, Kabuki
plays, songs, manga
and even videogames, and are necessary to make sense of much of what one sees in today's Kamakura.
Yoritomo, after the defeat and almost complete extermination of his family at the hands of the Taira clan
, managed in the space of a few years to go from being a fugitive hiding from his enemies inside a tree trunk to being the most powerful man in the land. Defeating the Taira clan, Yoritomo became de facto ruler of much of Japan and founder of the Kamakura shogunate, an institution destined to last 141 years and to have immense repercussions over the country's history.
The Kamakura shogunate era is called by historians the Kamakura period
and, although its end is clearly set (Siege of Kamakura (1333)
), its beginning is not: different historians put it at a different point in time within a range that goes from the establishment of Yoritomo's first military government in Kamakura (1180) to his elevation to the rank of in 1192. It used to be thought that during this period effective power had moved completely from the Emperor in Kyōto to Yoritomo in Kamakura, but the progress of research has revealed this wasn't the case. Even after the consolidation of the shogunate's power in the east, the Emperor continued to rule the country, particularly its west. However, it's undeniable that Kamakura had a certain autonomy and that it had surpassed the technical capital of Japan politically, culturally and economically. The shogunate even reserved for itself an area in Kyōto called where lived its representatives, who were there to protect its interests.
In 1179 Yoritomo married Hōjō Masako
, an event of far-reaching consequences for Japan, and in 1180 he entered Kamakura, building his residence in a valley called Ōkura (in today's Nishi Mikado
). The stele
on the spot (see photo) reads:
In 1185 his forces, commanded by his younger brother Minamoto no Yoshitsune
, vanquished the Taira and in 1192 he received from Emperor Go-Toba the title of Seii Tai Shogun. Yoshitsune's power would however cause Yoritomo's jealousy; the relationship between the brothers soured, and in 1189 Yoritomo was given Yoshitsune's head pickled in liquor. For the same reason, in 1193 he had his other brother Noriyori
killed. Power was now firmly in his hands, but the Minamoto dynasty and its power however were to end as quickly and unexpectedly as they had started.
In 1199 Yoritomo died falling from his horse when he was only 51 and was buried in a temple that had until then housed his tutelary goddess. He was succeeded by his 17-year-old son and second shogun, Minamoto no Yoriie
under the regency of his maternal grandfather Hōjō Tokimasa
. A long and bitter fight ensued in which entire clans like the Hatakeyama
, the Hiki
, and the Wada
were wiped out by the Hōjō who wished to get rid of Yoritomo supporters and consolidate their power. Yoriie did become head of the Minamoto clan and was regularly appointed shogun in 1202 but, by that time, real power had already fallen into the hands of his grandfather Hōjō Tokimasa and of his mother. Yoriie plotted to take power back from the Hōjō clan
, but failed and was assassinated on July 17, 1204. His six-year-old first son Ichiman
had already been killed during political turmoil in Kamakura, while his second son Yoshinari at age six was forced to become a Buddhist priest under the name Kugyō
. From then on all power would belong to the Hōjō, and the shogun would be just a figurehead. Since the Hōjō were part of the Taira clan, it can be said that the Taira had lost a battle, but in the end had won the war.
Yoritomo's second son and third shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo
spent most of his life staying out of politics and writing good poetry, but was nonetheless assassinated in February 1219 by his nephew Kugyō under the giant ginkgo tree that still stands at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Kugyō himself, the last of his line, was beheaded as a punishment for his crime by the Hōjō just hours later. Barely 30 years into the shogunate, the Seiwa Genji
dynasty who had created it in Kamakura had tragically ended.
The Hōjō regency, a unique episode in Japanese history, however continued until Nitta Yoshisada
destroyed it in 1333 at the Siege of Kamakura
. It was under the regency that Kamakura acquired many of its best and most prestigious temples and shrines, for example Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, Kenchō-ji, Engaku-ji, Jufuku-ji, Jōchi-ji, and Zeniarai Benten Shrine. The Hōjō family crest in the city is therefore still ubiquitous.
From the middle of the thirteenth century, the fact that the vassals (the gokenin
) were allowed to become de facto owners of the land they administered, coupled to the custom that all gokenin children could inherit, led to the parcelization of the land and to a consequent weakening of the shogunate. This, and not lack of legitimacy, was the primary cause of the Hōjō's fall.
On July 3, 1333, warlord Nitta Yoshisada
, who was an Emperor loyalist, attacked Kamakura to reestablish imperial rule. After trying to enter by land through the Kewaizaka Pass and the Gokuraku-ji Pass, he and his forces waited for a low tide, bypassed the Inamuragasaki
cape, entered the city and took it.
In accounts of that disastrous Hōjō defeat it is recorded that nearly 900 Hōjō samurai, including the last three Regents, committed suicide at their family temple, Tōshō-ji
, whose ruins have been found in today's Ōmachi
. Almost the entire clan vanished at once, the city was sacked and many temples were burned. Many simple citizens imitated the Hōjō, and an estimated total of over 6,000 died on that day of their own hand. In 1953, 556 skeletons of that period were found during excavations near Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's Ichi no Torii in Yuigahama, all of people who had died of a violent death, probably at the hand Nitta's forces.
The fall of Kamakura marks the beginning of an era in Japanese history characterized by chaos and violence called the Muromachi period
. Kamakura's decline was slow, and in fact the next phase of its history, in which, as the capital of the Kantō region
, it dominated the east of the country, lasted almost as long as the shogunate had. Kamakura would come out of it almost completely destroyed.
The situation in Kantō after 1333 continued to be tense, with Hōjō supporters staging sporadic revolts here and there. In 1335, Hōjō Tokiyuki
, son of last regent
Takatoki
, tried to re-establish the shogunate by force and defeated Kamakura's de-facto ruler Ashikaga Tadayoshi
in Musashi, in today's Kanagawa prefecture
. He was in his turn defeated in Koshigoe
by Ashikaga Takauji
, who had come in force from Kyoto to help his brother.
Takauji, founder of the Ashikaga shogunate
which, at least nominally, ruled Japan during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, at first established his residence at the same site in Kamakura where Yoritomo's Ōkura Bakufu
had been (see above), but in 1336 he left Kamakura in charge of his son Yoshiakira
and went west in pursuit of Nitta Yoshisada. The Ashikaga then decided to permanently stay in Kyoto, making Kamakura instead the capital of the (or ), a region including the provinces of Sagami
, Musashi
, Awa
, Kazusa
, Shimōsa, Hitachi
, Kozuke
, Shimotsuke
, Kai
, and Izu
, to which were later added Mutsu
and Dewa
, making it the equivalent to today's Kanto, plus the Shizuoka
and Yamanashi prefecture
s.
Kamakura's ruler was called Kantō kubō
, a title equivalent to shogun
assumed by Ashikaga Takauji's son Motouji
after his nomination to Kantō kanrei
, or deputy shogun, in 1349. Motouji transferred his original title to the Uesugi family
, which had previously held the hereditary title of , and would thereafter provide the Kantō kanrei. Motouji had been sent by his father because this last understood the importance of controlling the Kantō region and wanted to have an Ashikaga in power there, but the administration in Kamakura was from the beginning characterized by its rebelliousness, so the shogun's idea never really worked and actually backfired. The kantō kubō era is essentially a struggle for the shogunate between the Kamakura and the Kyoto branches of the Ashikaga clan, because both believed they had a valid claim to power. In the end, Kamakura had to be retaken by force in 1454. The five kubō recorded by history, all of Motouji's bloodline, were in order Motouji himself, Ujimitsu
, Mitsukane
, Mochiuji
and Shigeuji
. The last kubō had to escape to Koga
, in today's Ibaraki prefecture, and he and his descendants thereafter became known as the Koga kubō. According to the Shinpen Kamakurashi
, a guide book published in 1685, more than two centuries later the spot where the kubō's mansion had been was still left empty by local peasants in the hope he may one day return.
A long period of chaos and war followed the departure of the last Kantō kubō (the Sengoku period
). Kamakura was heavily damaged in 1454 and almost completely burned during the Siege of Kamakura (1526)
. Many of its citizens moved to Odawara when it came to prominence as the home town of the Late Hōjō clan
. The final blow to the city was the decision taken in 1603 by the Tokugawa
shoguns to move the capital to nearby Edo
, the place now called Tokyo. The city never recovered and gradually returned to be the small fishing village it had been before Yoritomo's arrival. Edmond Papinot's "Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan", published in 1910 during the late Meiji period, describes it as follows:
Kamakura's great cultural assets, its beach and the mystique that surrounded its name made it as popular as it is now, and for pretty much the same reasons. The destruction of its heritage nonetheless didn't stop: during the anti-Buddhist violence of 1868 (haibutsu kishaku
) that followed the official policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism (shinbutsu bunri
) many of the city temples were damaged. In other cases, because mixing the two religions was now forbidden, shrines or temples had to give away some of their treasures, thus damaging their cultural heritage and decreasing the value of their properties. Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's giant } (the two wooden warden gods usually found at the sides of a Buddhist temple's entrance), for example, being objects of Buddhist worship and therefore illegal where they were, were brought to Jufuku-ji, where they still are. The shrine also had to destroy Buddhism-related buildings, for example its tahōtō
tower, its , and its shichidō garan
. Some Buddhist temples were simply closed, like Zenkō-ji, to which the now-independent Meigetsu-in
used to belong.
In 1890, the railroad, which until then had arrived just to Ofuna, reached Kamakura bringing in tourists and new residents, and with them a new prosperity. Part of the ancient Dankazura (see above) was removed to let the railway system's new Yokosuka Line pass.
The volcanic eruption of Sakurajima
in January 1914, covered the city in ashes. Lava flows connected the mainland with what had been a small island in the bay.
The damage caused by time, centuries of neglect, politics, and modernization was further compounded by nature in 1923. The epicenter of the Great Kantō earthquake
that year was deep beneath Izu Ōshima
Island in Sagami Bay, a short distance from Kamakura. Tremors devastated Tokyo
, the port city of Yokohama
, and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba
, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka
, causing widespread damage throughout the Kantō region. It was reported that the sea receded at an unprecedented velocity, and then waves rushed back towards the shore in a great wall of water over seven meters high, drowning some and crushing others beneath an avalanche of waterborne debris. The total death toll from earthquake, tsunami, and fire exceeded 2,000 victims. Large sections of the shore simply slid into the sea; and the beach area near Kamakura was raised up about six-feet; or in other words, where there had only been a narrow strip of sand along the sea, a wide expanse of sand was fully exposed above the waterline.
Many temples founded centuries ago are just careful replicas, and it's for this reason that Kamakura has just one National Treasure
in the building category (the Shariden at Engaku-ji
). Much of Kamakura's heritage was for various reasons first lost and later rebuilt.
. Founder Nichiren
wasn't a native: he was born in Awa Province
, in today's Chiba Prefecture
, but it was only natural to a preacher to come here because at the time the city was the political center of the country. He settled down in a straw hut in the Matsubagayatsu district, where three temples (Ankokuron-ji, Myōhō–ji, and Chōshō-ji), have been fighting for centuries for the honor of being the true heir of the master. During his turbulent life Nichiren came and went, but Kamakura always remained at the heart of his religious activities. It's here that, when he was about to be executed by the Hōjō Regent for being a troublemaker, he was allegedly saved by a miracle, it's in Kamakura that he wrote his famous , or "Treatise on Peace and Righteousness", it's here that he was rescued and fed by monkeys and it's here that he preached.
Some Kamakura locations important to Nichiren Buddhism are:
Ankokuron-ji claims to have on its grounds the cave where the master, with the help of a white monkey, hid from his persecutors. (However Hosshō-ji in Zushi's Hisagi district makes the same claim, and with a better historical basis.) Within Ankokuron-ji lie also the spot where Nichiren used to meditate while admiring Mount Fuji, the place where his disciple Nichiro was cremated, and the cave where he is supposed to have written his Risshō Ankoku Ron.
Nearby Myōhō–ji
(also called "Koke-dera" or "Temple of Moss"), a much smaller temple, was erected in an area where Nichiren had his home for 19 years.
The third Nichiren temple in Nagoe, Chōshō-ji
, also claims to lie on the very spot where it all started.
Kamakura has many historically significant Buddhist
temple
s and Shinto
shrines, some of them, like Sugimoto-dera, over 1,200 years old. Kōtoku-in
, with its monumental outdoor bronze statue
of Amida Buddha
, is the most famous. A 15th century tsunami
destroyed the temple that once housed the Great Buddha, but the statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since. This iconic Daibutsu is arguably amongst the few images which have come to represent Japan in the world's collective imagination. Kamakura also hosts the so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the Kamakura Gozan
).
The architectural heritage of Kamakura is almost unmatched, and the city has proposed some of its historic sites for inclusion in UNESCO
's World Heritage Site
s list. It must be remembered, however, that much of the city was devastated in the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 and that many temples and shrines, however founded centuries ago, are physically just careful replicas.
Some of Kamakura's highlights are:
Kamakura has many festivals and other events in each of the seasons, usually based on its rich historical heritage. They are often sponsored by private businesses and, unlike those in Kyoto
, they are relatively small-scale events attended mostly by locals and a few tourists. January in particular has many because it's the first month of the year, so authorities, fishermen, businesses and artisans organize events to pray for their own health and safety, and for a good and prosperous working year. Kamakura's numerous temples and shrines, first among them city symbols Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and Kenchō-ji, organize many events too, bringing the total to over a hundred.
, Hase-dera
, Kamakura-gū
, etc. : Celebration of the end of winter. Beans are scattered in the air to ensure good luck.
's beach.
(Cancelled in 2010 and 2011.
Besides the Seven Entrances there is another great pass in the city, the huge which connects Shakadōgayatsu to the Ōmachi and Nagoe (formerly called Nagoshi) districts.
According to the plaque near the pass itself, the name derives from the fact that third Shikken
Hōjō Yasutoki
built here a Shakadō (a Buddhist temple devoted to Shakyamuni
) dedicated to his father Yoshitoki
's memory. The original location of the temple is unclear, but it was closed some time in the middle Muromachi Period
. The Shaka Nyorai
statue that is supposed to have been its main object of cult has been declared an Important Cultural Property
and is conserved at Daien-ji in Meguro, Tokyo
.
Although important, the pass was not considered one of the Entrances because it connected two areas both fully within Kamakura. Its date of creation is unclear, as it's not explicitly mentioned in any historical record, and it could be therefore recent. It seems very likely however that a pass which connected the Kanazawa Road to the Nagoe area called and mentioned in the in relation to a 1180 war in Kotsubo
between the Miura clan
and the Hatakeyama clan
is indeed the Shakadō Pass. In any case, the presence of two yagura tombs (see the following section) within it means that it can be dated to at least the Kamakura period. It was then an important way of transit, but it was also much narrower than today and harder to pass.
Inside the pass there are two small yagura
tombs containing some gorintō
. On the Shakadōgayatsu side of the pass, just before the first houses a small street on the left takes to a large group of yagura called Shakadōgayatsu Yagura-gun. There rest the bones of some of the hundreds of Hōjō family members who committed suicide at Tōshō-ji
after the fall of Kamakura in 1333.
The pass appears many times in some recent Japanese films like "The Blue Light", Tada, Kimi o Aishiteru, and . The pass is presently closed to all traffic because of the danger posed by falling rocks.
On April 28, 2010, a day of heavy rain, a large section of rock on the Omachi side of the Shakado Pass gave way, making the road temporarily impassable for pedestrians.
An important and characteristic feature of Kamakura is a type of grave called . Yagura are caves dug on the side of hills during the Middle Ages to serve as tombs for high-ranking personalities and priests. Two famous examples are Hōjō Masako's and Minamoto no Sanetomo's cenotaph
s in Jufuku-ji
's cemetery, about 1 km from Kamakura Station
.
Usually present in the cemetery of most Buddhist temples in the town, they are extremely numerous also in the hills surrounding it, and estimates of their number always put them in the thousands. Yagura can be found either isolated or in groups of even 180 graves, as in the . Many are now abandoned and in a bad state of preservation.
The reason why they were dug is not known, but it is thought likely that the tradition started because of the lack of flat land within the narrow limits of Kamakura's territory. Started during the Kamakura period
(1185–1333), the tradition seems to have declined during the following Muromachi period
, when storehouses and cemeteries came to be preferred.
True yagura can be found also in the Miura Peninsula
, in the Izu Peninsula
, and even in distant Awa Province (Chiba)
.
Tombs in caves can also be found in the Tohoku region, near Hiroshima
and Kyoto
, and in Ishikawa Prefecture
, however they are not called yagura and their relationship with those in Kanagawa Prefecture is unknown.
's Yokosuka Line
has three stations within the city. Ōfuna Station
is the northernmost. Next is Kita-Kamakura Station
. In the center of the city is Kamakura Station
, the central railway station in the city.
Kamakura Station is the terminal for the Enoshima Electric Railway
. This narrow-gauge railway runs westward to Fujisawa
, and part of its route runs parallel to the seashore. After leaving Kamakura Station, trains make eight more station stops in the city. One of them is Hase Station
, closest to Hase-dera
and Kōtoku-in
.
Kamakura Women's University
is the city's sole university.
Cities of Japan
||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...
located in Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
, Japan, about 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called (short for ).
Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency
Shikken
The was the regent for the shogun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. The post was monopolized by the Hōjō clan, and this system only existed once in Japanese history, between 1203 and 1333...
during the Kamakura Period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
. Yet, despite Kamakura's annihilation of Kyoto-based political and military power at the Battle of Dan-no-ura
Battle of Dan-no-ura
The ' was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On March 24, 1185, the Genji clan fleet, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the Heike clan fleet, during a half-day engagement.The Taira were outnumbered, but...
in 1185, and the failure of the Emperor to free himself from Kamakura's control during the Jōkyū War
Jokyu War
', also known as the Jōkyū Disturbance or the Jōkyū Rebellion, was fought in Japan between the forces of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and those of the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate, whom the retired emperor was trying to overthrow....
, Takahashi (2005) has questioned whether Kamakura's nationwide political hegemony actually existed. Takahashi claims that if Kamakura ruled the Kantō, not only was the Emperor in fact still the ruler of Kansai, but during this period the city was in many ways politically and administratively still under the ancient capital of Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. Kamakura was simply a rival center of political, economic and cultural power in a country that had Kyoto as its capital.
According to The Institute for Research on World-Systems, Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
, with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
by 1200 AD.
As of March 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 174,016 and a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 4390 PD/km2. The total area is 39.6 square kilometres (15.3 sq mi).
Kamakura was designated as a city on November 3, 1939.
Kamakura has a beach which, in combination with its temples and proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination. Kamakura's bay has a surf break off of the headland point, albeit an inconsistent one, which makes it at least a second-tier destination for surfers. It is also noted for its senbei
Senbei
are a type of Japanese rice crackers. They come in various shapes, sizes, and flavors, usually savory but sometimes sweet. Senbei are often eaten with green tea as a casual snack and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy refreshment....
, which are crisp crackers grilled and sold fresh along the main shopping street.
Geography
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
s and to the south by the open water of Sagami Bay
Sagami Bay
Sagami Bay , also known as the Sagami Gulf or Sagami Sea, lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the...
, Kamakura is a natural fortress. Before the construction of several tunnels and modern roads that now connect it to Fujisawa
Fujisawa, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 407,731 and a population density of 5,870 people per km². The total area is 69.51 km²-Geography:...
, Ofuna
Ofuna
Ōfuna can refer to:*Ōfuna Kannon, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan*Ōfuna Station, a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan...
and Zushi, on land it could be entered only through narrow artificial passes, among which the seven most important were called , a name sometimes translated as "Kamakura's Seven Mouths". The natural fortification made Kamakura an easily defensible stronghold.
Before the opening of the Entrances, access on land was so difficult that the Azuma Kagami
Azuma Kagami
The , or "mirror of the east", is a Japanese medieval text that chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō and his return to Kyoto in 1266...
reports that Hōjō Masako came back to Kamakura from a visit to Sōtōzan temple in Izu bypassing by boat the impassable Inamuragasaki
Inamuragasaki
is a cape at the western end of Yuigahama in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The cape divides Yuigahama from Shichirigahama and Enoshima. Its name seems to stem from its shape, similar to a stack of rice at harvest time...
cape and arriving in Yuigahama. Again according to the Azuma Kagami, the first of the Kamakura shoguns
Kamakura shogunate
The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...
, Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...
, chose it as a base partly because it was his ancestors' land (his yukari no chi), partly because of these physical characteristics.
To the north of the city stands (92 m (301.8 ft)), which then passes behind the Daibutsu
Kotoku-in
is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.The temple is renowned for its , a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.- The Great Buddha :...
and reaches Inamuragasaki and the sea.
From the north to the east Kamakura is surrounded by (147 m (482.3 ft)), (159 m (521.7 ft)), (127 m (416.7 ft)), （141 m (462.6 ft)), and （120 m (393.7 ft)), which extend all the way to Iijimagasaki and Wakae Island
Wakae Island
is an artificial island, the oldest in Japan, now in ruins. The name means "Waka Bay Island" from Waka, Zaimokuza's old name . Its remains are located at the east end of Zaimokuza Beach near Kamakura and are still visible at low tide...
, on the border with Kotsubo
Kotsubo
Kotsubo is a small fishing village in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is half way between Zushi and the old Japanese capital of Kamakura...
and Zushi. From Kamakura's alluvional plain branch off numerous narrow valleys like the Urigayatsu, Shakadōgayatsu, Ōgigayatsu, Kamegayatsu, Hikigayatsu, and Matsubagayatsu valleys. (The ending "ヶ谷" meaning "valley", common in place names and usually read "-gaya", in Kamakura is pronounced "-gayatsu").
Kamakura is crossed by the Namerigawa
Namerigawa, Kanagawa
The is a river that goes from the Asaina Pass in northern Kamakura, Kanagawa to the beach in Yuigahama, for a total length of about 8 km. Although Yuigahama is in fact the name of the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, the name is usually used just for its...
river, which goes from the Asaina Pass in northern Kamakura to the beach in Yuigahama
Yuigahama
is a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is in fact the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from Shichirigahama, to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, which...
for a total length of about 8 kilometres (5 mi). The river marks the border between Zaimokuza
Zaimokuza
is an area within the Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref., in Japan that runs along the sea from Cape Iijima near Kotsubo harbor to the estuary of the Namerigawa. The relation between the beach's name and that of its neighboring areas is complex...
and Yuigahama.
In administrative terms, the municipality of Kamakura borders with Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
to the north, with Zushi to the east, and with Fujisawa to the west. It includes many areas outside the Seven Entrances as Yamanouchi, , Shichirigahama
Shichirigahama
is a beach near Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, which goes from Koyurigimisaki Cape, near Fujisawa, to Inamuragasaki Cape, west of Kamakura. Since one could enjoy a clear view of Mount Fuji and Enoshima from there, during the Edo period it was famous as a subject for ukiyo-e. For example,...
, and Ofuna
Ofuna
Ōfuna can refer to:*Ōfuna Kannon, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan*Ōfuna Station, a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan...
, and is the result of the fusion of Kamakura proper with the cities of Koshigoe
Koshigoe
is a part of the municipality of Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, located at the western end of the beach of Shichirigahama, near Fujisawa. The name seems to stem from the fact it was founded by people who crossed the base of the mountains to reach the fertile plains near the sea.This small...
, absorbed in 1939, Ofuna
Ofuna
Ōfuna can refer to:*Ōfuna Kannon, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan*Ōfuna Station, a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan...
, absorbed in 1948, and with the village of Fukasawa, absorbed in 1948.
Kita-Kamakura (Yamanouchi)
North-west of Kamakura lies Yamanouchi, commonly called Kita-Kamakura because of the presence of East Japan Railway CompanyEast Japan Railway Company
is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
's (JR) Kita-Kamakura Station
Kita-Kamakura Station
is a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company .-Lines:Kita-Kamakura Station is served by the Yokosuka Line and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line...
. Yamanouchi, however, was technically never a part of historical Kamakura since it is outside the Seven Entrances. Yamanouchi was the northern border of the city during the shogunate, and the important Kobukorozaka and Kamegayatsu Passes, two of Kamakura's Seven Entrances, led directly to it. Its name at the time used to be . The border post used to lie about a hundred meters past today's Kita-Kamakura train station in Ofuna
Ofuna
Ōfuna can refer to:*Ōfuna Kannon, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan*Ōfuna Station, a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan...
's direction.
Although very small, Yamanouchi is famous for its traditional atmosphere and the presence, among others, of three of the five highest-ranking Rinzai Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
temples in Kamakura, the . These three great temples were built here because Yamanouchi was the home territory of the Hōjō clan
Hojo clan
See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...
, a branch of the Taira clan which ruled Japan for 150 years. Among Kita-Kamakura's most illustrious citizens were artist Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
and movie director Yasujiro Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
. Ozu is buried at Engaku-ji
Engaku-ji
right|thumb|A stone carvingNot to be confused with Enryaku-ji in Kyoto., or Engaku-ji , is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa prefecture to the south of Tokyo...
.
Wakamiya Ōji and the shogunate's six avenues
Sagami Bay
Sagami Bay , also known as the Sagami Gulf or Sagami Sea, lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the...
directly to the shrine. This road is known as Wakamiya Ōji
Wakamiya Oji
is a 1.8 km street in Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, unusual because it is at the same time the city's main avenue and the approach of its largest Shinto shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Over the centuries Wakamiya Ōji has gone thorough an extreme change. A heavily...
, the city's main street. Built by Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...
as an imitation of Kyoto's Suzaku Ōji
Suzaku Avenue
is the name given to the central avenue leading to the Imperial Palace from the south in Japanese capitals. Traditionally the Imperial palace complex faces south, whilst Suzaku Avenue leads directly away from the main gate. Cities were often based on a traditional Chinese grid pattern. Suzaku...
, Wakamiya Ōji used to be much wider, delimited on both sides by a 3 metre deep canal and flanked by pine trees.
Walking from the beach toward the shrine, one passes through three torii
Torii
A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred...
, or Shinto gates, called respectively Ichi no Torii (first gate), Ni no Torii (second gate) and San no Torii (third gate). Between the first and the second lies Geba Yotsukado which, as the name indicates, was the place where riders had to get off their horses in deference to Hachiman
Hachiman
In Japanese mythology, is the Japanese syncretic god of archery and war, incorporating elements from both Shinto and Buddhism. Although often called the god of war, he is more correctly defined as the tutelary god of warriors. He is also divine protector of Japan and the Japanese people...
and his shrine.
Approximately 100 metres after the second torii, the dankazura, a raised pathway flanked by cherry trees that marks the center of Kamakura, begins. The dankazura becomes gradually wider so that it will look longer than it really is when viewed from the shrine. Its entire length is under the direct administration of the shrine. Minamoto no Yoritomo made his father-in-law Hōjō Tokimasa
Hojo Tokimasa
was the first Hōjō shikken of the Kamakura bakufu and head of the Hōjō clan. He was shikken from the death of Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1199 until his abdication in 1205.- Background: The Hōjō Clan :...
and his men carry by hand the stones to build it to pray for the safe delivery of his son Yoriie
Minamoto no Yoriie
was the second shogun of Japan's Kamakura shogunate, and the first son of first shogun Yoritomo.- Life :Born from Tokimasa's daughter Hōjō Masako at Hiki Yoshikazu's residence in Kamakura, Yoriie had as wet nurses the wives of powerful men like Hiki himself and Kajiwara Kagetoki, and Hiki's...
. The danzakura used to go all the way to Geba, but it was drastically shortened during the 19th century to make way for the newly-constructed Yokosuka railroad line
Yokosuka Line
The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company .The Yokosuka Line connects in Chūō, Tokyo and in Yokosuka, Kanagawa...
.
In Kamakura, wide streets are called 、narrower ones , the small streets that connect the two are called , and intersections . Komachi Ōji
Komachi Oji
is a street in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, that begins at from the Kanazawa Kaidō, crosses Yoko Ōji, passes in front of Hōkai-ji and Honkaku-ji, crosses the Ebisudōbashi Bridge , Ōmachi Ōji and Kuruma Ōji, reaches Moto Hachiman and Kōmyō-ji, and finally ends in Zaimokuza near Wakaejima.It is...
and Ima Kōji
Ima Koji
, sometimes also called is the name of a section of a longer street in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Strictly speaking, Ima Kōji goes from in front of Jufuku-ji to about 400 m further south, but the name is used all the way to the intersection with Yuigahama Avenue...
run respectively east and west of Wakamiya Ōji, while Yoko Ōji
Yoko Oji
is the name of a short street in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan which begins in front of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, the city's most important Shinto shrine and ends in front of Hōkai-ji. It is believed to be the street that passed in front of the so-called Ōkura Bakufu, seat of first shogun Minamoto no...
, the road that passes right under San no Torii, and Ōmachi Ōji
Omachi Oji
is the name of a street in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, which begins at Geba Yotsukado and ends at the Nagoshi Pass. It takes its name from the district of Ōmachi, which it crosses. At the time of the shogunate it was the most important road that went from east to west. The entertainment and...
, which goes from Kotsubo
Kotsubo
Kotsubo is a small fishing village in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is half way between Zushi and the old Japanese capital of Kamakura...
to Geba
Geba
Geba - the hill, , a Levitical city of Benjamin on the north border of Judah adjacent to Ramah in Benjamin north of Gibeah. It has been identified with Jeb'a, about 5½ miles north of Jerusalem...
and Hase
Hase
The Hase is a 193 km long river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ems, but part of its flow goes to the Else, that is part of the Weser basin. Its source is in the Teutoburg Forest, south-east of Osnabrück, on the north slope of the 307 m high Hankenüll hill.- Weser-Ems...
, run in the east - west direction. Near the remains of Hama no Ōtorii runs Kuruma Ōji Avenue (also called Biwa Koji). These six streets (three running north to south and three east to west) were built at the time of the shogunate and are all still under heavy use. The only one to have been modified is Kuruma Ōji, a segment of which has disappeared.
Early history
The earliest traces of human settlements in the area date back at least 10,000 years. ObsidianObsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
and stone tools found at excavation sites near Jōraku-ji were dated to the Old Stone Age (between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago). During the Jōmon period
Jomon period
The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC.The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them...
, the sea level was higher than now and all the flat land in Kamakura up to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and, further east, up to Yokohama's Totsuka-ku and Sakae-ku was under water. Thus, the oldest pottery fragments found come from hillside settlements of the period between 7500 BC and 5000 BC. In the late Jōmon period the sea receded and civilization progressed. During the Yayoi period
Yayoi period
The is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to 300 AD. It is named after the neighbourhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new...
(300 BC–300 AD), the sea receded further almost to today's coastline, and the economy shifted radically from hunting and fishing to farming.
The Azuma Kagami describes pre-shogunate Kamakura as a remote, forlorn place, but there is reason to believe its writers simply wanted to give the impression that prosperity had been brought there by the new regime. To the contrary, it is known that by the Nara Period
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...
(about 700 AD) there were both temples and shrines. Sugimoto-dera
Sugimoto-dera
is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the oldest temple in Kamakura and, together with Hōkai-ji, the only one of the Tendai denomination. The temple is Number one of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit. Two of the three statues of goddess Kannon it enshrines...
for example was built during this period and is therefore one of the city's oldest temples. The town was also the seat of areal government offices and the point of convergence of several land and marine routes. It seems therefore only natural that it should have been a city of a certain importance, likely to attract Yoritomo's attention.
Etymology of the name Kamakura and its first use
There are various hypotheses about the origin of its name. According to the most likely one Kamakura, surrounded as it is on three sides by mountains, was likened both to a cooking stove (a ) and to a warehouse (a ), because both only have one side open. It seems therefore likely that it was called at first Kamadokura, and that the syllable do was then gradually dropped.Another and more picturesque explanation is a legend according to which Fujiwara no Kamatari
Fujiwara no Kamatari
Fujiwara no Kamatari was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Asuka period.Kamatari was the founder of the Fujiwara clan in Japan. His birth clan was the Nakatomi. He was the son of Nakatomi no Mikeko, and his birth name was Nakatomi no Kamatari...
stopped at Yuigahama
Yuigahama
is a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is in fact the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from Shichirigahama, to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, which...
on his way to today's Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
where he wanted to pray for peace at the Kashima Jingu Shrine. He dreamed of an old man who promised his support, and the day after he found next to his bed a type of sword called kamayari
Kamayari
The kamayari is similar to the jumonji yari. While it also had two protrusions shooting off the base of a main spear tip, in yari the offshoots were hooked back downward. The kamayari essentially is a yari with kama at the base of the blade to assist in hooking things...
. Kamatari enshrined it in a place called Okura
Okura Bakufu
(also called is the name of shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo's first government. It took its name from the location in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, where Yoritomo's palace used to stand. Ōkura in Kamakura is defined as the area comprised between Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, the Asaina Pass, the Namerigawa...
. Kamayari plus Okura turned into Kamakura.
The name appears in the Kojiki
Kojiki
is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Gemmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the Kami...
of 712. Kamakura is also mentioned in the c. 8th century Man'yōshū as well as in the Wamyō Ruijushō
Wamyo Ruijusho
The is a 938 CE Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters. The Heian Period scholar Minamoto no Shitagō began compilation in 934, at the request of Emperor Daigo's daughter...
of 938. However, the city clearly appears in the historical record only with Minamoto no Yoritomo and his shogunate of 1192.
The Kamakura period
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
TV dramas, Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
plays, songs, manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and even videogames, and are necessary to make sense of much of what one sees in today's Kamakura.
Yoritomo, after the defeat and almost complete extermination of his family at the hands of the Taira clan
Taira clan
The was a major Japanese clan of samurai in historical Japan.In reference to Japanese history, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects...
, managed in the space of a few years to go from being a fugitive hiding from his enemies inside a tree trunk to being the most powerful man in the land. Defeating the Taira clan, Yoritomo became de facto ruler of much of Japan and founder of the Kamakura shogunate, an institution destined to last 141 years and to have immense repercussions over the country's history.
The Kamakura shogunate era is called by historians the Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
and, although its end is clearly set (Siege of Kamakura (1333)
Siege of Kamakura (1333)
The 1333 siege of Kamakura was a battle of the Genkō War, and marked the end of the power of the Hōjō clan, which had dominated the regency of the Kamakura shogunate for over a century...
), its beginning is not: different historians put it at a different point in time within a range that goes from the establishment of Yoritomo's first military government in Kamakura (1180) to his elevation to the rank of in 1192. It used to be thought that during this period effective power had moved completely from the Emperor in Kyōto to Yoritomo in Kamakura, but the progress of research has revealed this wasn't the case. Even after the consolidation of the shogunate's power in the east, the Emperor continued to rule the country, particularly its west. However, it's undeniable that Kamakura had a certain autonomy and that it had surpassed the technical capital of Japan politically, culturally and economically. The shogunate even reserved for itself an area in Kyōto called where lived its representatives, who were there to protect its interests.
Hojo Masako
was the eldest child of Hōjō Tokimasa by his wife Hōjō no Maki, the first shikken, or regent, of the Kamakura shogunate. She was the sister of Hōjō Yoshitoki, and was married to Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura period...
, an event of far-reaching consequences for Japan, and in 1180 he entered Kamakura, building his residence in a valley called Ōkura (in today's Nishi Mikado
Nishi Mikado
is the name of a neighborhood in Kamakura, a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo. Nishi Mikado lies north-east of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū.- Etymology of the name:...
). The stele
Stele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
on the spot (see photo) reads:
820 years ago, in 1180, Minamoto no Yoritomo built his mansion here. Consolidated his power, he later ruled from home, and his government was therefore called . He was succeeded by his sons Yoriie and Sanetomo, and this place remained the seat of the government for 46 years until 1225, when his wife Hōjō Masako died. It was then transferred to .
Erected in March 1917 by the Kamakurachō Seinendan
In 1185 his forces, commanded by his younger brother Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura...
, vanquished the Taira and in 1192 he received from Emperor Go-Toba the title of Seii Tai Shogun. Yoshitsune's power would however cause Yoritomo's jealousy; the relationship between the brothers soured, and in 1189 Yoritomo was given Yoshitsune's head pickled in liquor. For the same reason, in 1193 he had his other brother Noriyori
Minamoto no Noriyori
was a late Heian period general, who fought alongside his brothers Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune at a number of battles of the Genpei War. The sixth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, he was spared along with his brothers in 1160 by Taira no Kiyomori following Yoshitomo's death.He...
killed. Power was now firmly in his hands, but the Minamoto dynasty and its power however were to end as quickly and unexpectedly as they had started.
In 1199 Yoritomo died falling from his horse when he was only 51 and was buried in a temple that had until then housed his tutelary goddess. He was succeeded by his 17-year-old son and second shogun, Minamoto no Yoriie
Minamoto no Yoriie
was the second shogun of Japan's Kamakura shogunate, and the first son of first shogun Yoritomo.- Life :Born from Tokimasa's daughter Hōjō Masako at Hiki Yoshikazu's residence in Kamakura, Yoriie had as wet nurses the wives of powerful men like Hiki himself and Kajiwara Kagetoki, and Hiki's...
under the regency of his maternal grandfather Hōjō Tokimasa
Hojo Tokimasa
was the first Hōjō shikken of the Kamakura bakufu and head of the Hōjō clan. He was shikken from the death of Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1199 until his abdication in 1205.- Background: The Hōjō Clan :...
. A long and bitter fight ensued in which entire clans like the Hatakeyama
Hatakeyama clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim of political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in battle by Hōjō forces in Kamakura...
, the Hiki
Hiki Yoshikazu
was a Japanese warrior-noble of the Kamakura period related to the ruling Minamoto clan through his daughter's marriage. He, and much of the Hiki clan, were killed for allegedly conspiring to have one of the Minamoto heirs killed, in order to gain power himself....
, and the Wada
Wada Yoshimori
was an early Kamakura period military commander. A gokenin of the Kamakura shogunate, he was the first director of the Samurai-dokoro.He was the son of Miura Yoshiaki and grandson of Sugimoto Yoshimune, making him a descendant of the Heike. Among his sons were Wada Yoshinao, Asahina Yoshihide, and...
were wiped out by the Hōjō who wished to get rid of Yoritomo supporters and consolidate their power. Yoriie did become head of the Minamoto clan and was regularly appointed shogun in 1202 but, by that time, real power had already fallen into the hands of his grandfather Hōjō Tokimasa and of his mother. Yoriie plotted to take power back from the Hōjō clan
Hojo clan
See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...
, but failed and was assassinated on July 17, 1204. His six-year-old first son Ichiman
Minamoto no Ichiman
was the eldest son of second Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoriie. His mother Wakasa no Tsubone was Hiki Yoshikazu's daughter, and the child was brought up by the Hiki clan...
had already been killed during political turmoil in Kamakura, while his second son Yoshinari at age six was forced to become a Buddhist priest under the name Kugyō
Kugyo (Minamoto no Yoshinari)
, also known as or , was the second son of the second Kamakura shogun of Japan, Minamoto no Yoriie. At the age of six, after his father was killed in Shuzenji in Izu, he became his uncle Sanetomo's adopted son and, thanks to his grandmother Hōjō Masako's intercession, a disciple of Songyō,...
. From then on all power would belong to the Hōjō, and the shogun would be just a figurehead. Since the Hōjō were part of the Taira clan, it can be said that the Taira had lost a battle, but in the end had won the war.
Minamoto no Sanetomo
Minamoto no Sanetomo was the third shogun of the Kamakura shogunate Sanetomo was the second son of the founder of the Kamakura shogunate Minamoto no Yoritomo, his mother was Hōjō Masako, and his older brother was the second Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoriie.His childhood name was...
spent most of his life staying out of politics and writing good poetry, but was nonetheless assassinated in February 1219 by his nephew Kugyō under the giant ginkgo tree that still stands at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Kugyō himself, the last of his line, was beheaded as a punishment for his crime by the Hōjō just hours later. Barely 30 years into the shogunate, the Seiwa Genji
Seiwa Genji
The ' were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, were descended...
dynasty who had created it in Kamakura had tragically ended.
The Hōjō regency, a unique episode in Japanese history, however continued until Nitta Yoshisada
Nitta Yoshisada
was the head of the Nitta family in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period, capturing Kamakura from the Hōjō clan in 1333....
destroyed it in 1333 at the Siege of Kamakura
Siege of Kamakura (1333)
The 1333 siege of Kamakura was a battle of the Genkō War, and marked the end of the power of the Hōjō clan, which had dominated the regency of the Kamakura shogunate for over a century...
. It was under the regency that Kamakura acquired many of its best and most prestigious temples and shrines, for example Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, Kenchō-ji, Engaku-ji, Jufuku-ji, Jōchi-ji, and Zeniarai Benten Shrine. The Hōjō family crest in the city is therefore still ubiquitous.
From the middle of the thirteenth century, the fact that the vassals (the gokenin
Gokenin
A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods. In exchange for protection and the right to become shugo or jitō , in times of peace a gokenin had the duty to protect the imperial court and Kamakura, in case of war had to fight with his forces under the...
) were allowed to become de facto owners of the land they administered, coupled to the custom that all gokenin children could inherit, led to the parcelization of the land and to a consequent weakening of the shogunate. This, and not lack of legitimacy, was the primary cause of the Hōjō's fall.
The fall of the Kamakura shogunate
Nitta Yoshisada
was the head of the Nitta family in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period, capturing Kamakura from the Hōjō clan in 1333....
, who was an Emperor loyalist, attacked Kamakura to reestablish imperial rule. After trying to enter by land through the Kewaizaka Pass and the Gokuraku-ji Pass, he and his forces waited for a low tide, bypassed the Inamuragasaki
Inamuragasaki
is a cape at the western end of Yuigahama in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The cape divides Yuigahama from Shichirigahama and Enoshima. Its name seems to stem from its shape, similar to a stack of rice at harvest time...
cape, entered the city and took it.
In accounts of that disastrous Hōjō defeat it is recorded that nearly 900 Hōjō samurai, including the last three Regents, committed suicide at their family temple, Tōshō-ji
Tosho-ji
was the Hōjō clan's family temple in Kamakura during the Kamakura period. Its founder was Taikō Gyōyū and it was constructed in 1237 by Hōjō Yasutoki in memory of his mother, who had her tomb there. According to the Taiheiki, from its foundation until the end of the Kamakura shogunate every regent...
, whose ruins have been found in today's Ōmachi
Omachi (Kanagawa)
is a locality in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, defined as the part of town south of the Ebisubashi bridge on the Namerigawa. The part of town north of the same bridge is called .- References :...
. Almost the entire clan vanished at once, the city was sacked and many temples were burned. Many simple citizens imitated the Hōjō, and an estimated total of over 6,000 died on that day of their own hand. In 1953, 556 skeletons of that period were found during excavations near Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's Ichi no Torii in Yuigahama, all of people who had died of a violent death, probably at the hand Nitta's forces.
The Muromachi and Edo periods
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
. Kamakura's decline was slow, and in fact the next phase of its history, in which, as the capital of the Kantō region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
, it dominated the east of the country, lasted almost as long as the shogunate had. Kamakura would come out of it almost completely destroyed.
The situation in Kantō after 1333 continued to be tense, with Hōjō supporters staging sporadic revolts here and there. In 1335, Hōjō Tokiyuki
Hojo Tokiyuki
was a samurai of the Hōjō clan who fought both for and against the Imperial Court. His father was Hōjō Takatoki, last Regent and de facto ruler of the Kamakura shogunate....
, son of last regent
Shikken
The was the regent for the shogun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. The post was monopolized by the Hōjō clan, and this system only existed once in Japanese history, between 1203 and 1333...
Takatoki
Hojo Takatoki
Hōjō Takatoki was the last Tokuso and ruling Shikken of Japan's Kamakura shogunate; the latter ones were his puppets, a member of the Hōjō clan, he was the son of Hōjō Sadatoki, and was preceded as shikken by Hōjō Morotoki.Takatoki became regent at the age of eight, and thus actual power was...
, tried to re-establish the shogunate by force and defeated Kamakura's de-facto ruler Ashikaga Tadayoshi
Ashikaga Tadayoshi
was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period of Japanese history and a close associate of his elder brother Takauji, the first Muromachi shogun. Son of Ashikaga Sadauji and of a daughter of Uesugi Yorishige, the same mother as Takauji, he was a pivotal figure of the chaotic transition...
in Musashi, in today's Kanagawa prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
. He was in his turn defeated in Koshigoe
Koshigoe
is a part of the municipality of Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, located at the western end of the beach of Shichirigahama, near Fujisawa. The name seems to stem from the fact it was founded by people who crossed the base of the mountains to reach the fertile plains near the sea.This small...
by Ashikaga Takauji
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...
, who had come in force from Kyoto to help his brother.
Takauji, founder of the Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...
which, at least nominally, ruled Japan during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, at first established his residence at the same site in Kamakura where Yoritomo's Ōkura Bakufu
Okura Bakufu
(also called is the name of shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo's first government. It took its name from the location in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, where Yoritomo's palace used to stand. Ōkura in Kamakura is defined as the area comprised between Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, the Asaina Pass, the Namerigawa...
had been (see above), but in 1336 he left Kamakura in charge of his son Yoshiakira
Ashikaga Yoshiakira
was the 2nd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1358 to 1367 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshiakira was the son of the founder and first shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, Ashikaga Takauji....
and went west in pursuit of Nitta Yoshisada. The Ashikaga then decided to permanently stay in Kyoto, making Kamakura instead the capital of the (or ), a region including the provinces of Sagami
Sagami Province
was an old province in the area that is today the central and western Kanagawa prefecture. It was sometimes called . Sagami bordered on Izu, Musashi, Suruga provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Sagami Bay...
, Musashi
Musashi Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Prefecture, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama...
, Awa
Awa Province (Chiba)
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on the tip of the Boso Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or...
, Kazusa
Kazusa Province
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or .Kazusa is classified as one of the...
, Shimōsa, Hitachi
Hitachi Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Iwashiro, Iwaki, Shimousa, and Shimotsuke Provinces....
, Kozuke
Kozuke Province
was an old province located in the Tōsandō of Japan, which today comprises Gunma Prefecture. It is nicknamed as or .The ancient provincial capital was near modern Maebashi. During the Sengoku period, Kōzuke was controlled variously by Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, the late Hōjō clan, and...
, Shimotsuke
Shimotsuke Province
is an old province of Japan in the area of Tochigi Prefecture in the Kanto region. It was sometimes called or .The ancient capital of the province was near the city of Tochigi, but in feudal times the main center of the province was near the modern capital, Utsunomiya.-History:Different parts of...
, Kai
Kai Province
, also known as , is an old province in Japan in the area of Yamanashi Prefecture. It lies in central Honshū, west of Tokyo, in a landlocked mountainous region that includes Mount Fuji along its border with Shizuoka Prefecture....
, and Izu
Izu Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Shizuoka Prefecture. Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .The mainland portion of Izu Province, comprising the Izu Peninsula is today the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture and the Izu Islands are now part of...
, to which were later added Mutsu
Mutsu Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...
and Dewa
Dewa Province
is an old province of Japan, comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. It was sometimes called .-Historical record:...
, making it the equivalent to today's Kanto, plus the Shizuoka
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
and Yamanashi prefecture
Yamanashi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Kōfu.-Pre-history to the 14th century:People have been living in the Yamanashi area for about 30,000 years...
s.
Kanto kubo
was a title equivalent to shogun assumed by Ashikaga Motouji after his nomination to Kantō kanrei, or deputy shogun for the Kamakura-fu, in 1349. Motouji transferred his original title to the Uesugi family, which had previously held the hereditary title of , and would thereafter provide the Kantō...
, a title equivalent to shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
assumed by Ashikaga Takauji's son Motouji
Ashikaga Motouji
-See also:* Kamakura, Kanagawa - The Muromachi and Edo periods* The article Nanboku-chō period...
after his nomination to Kantō kanrei
Kanrei
or, more rarely, kanryō, was a high political post in feudal Japan; it is usually translated as Shogun's Deputy. After 1349, there were actually two Kanrei, the Kyoto Kanrei and the Kantō Kanrei....
, or deputy shogun, in 1349. Motouji transferred his original title to the Uesugi family
Uesugi clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from the Fujiwara clan and particularly notable for their power in the Muromachi and Sengoku periods ....
, which had previously held the hereditary title of , and would thereafter provide the Kantō kanrei. Motouji had been sent by his father because this last understood the importance of controlling the Kantō region and wanted to have an Ashikaga in power there, but the administration in Kamakura was from the beginning characterized by its rebelliousness, so the shogun's idea never really worked and actually backfired. The kantō kubō era is essentially a struggle for the shogunate between the Kamakura and the Kyoto branches of the Ashikaga clan, because both believed they had a valid claim to power. In the end, Kamakura had to be retaken by force in 1454. The five kubō recorded by history, all of Motouji's bloodline, were in order Motouji himself, Ujimitsu
Ashikaga Ujimitsu
was a Nanboku-chō period warrior and the Kamakura-fu's second Kantō Kubō, or Shogun Deputy. Son of first Kantō Kubō Ashikaga Motouji, he succeeded his father in 1367 at the age of nine when this last suddenly died during an epidemic. It was during his reign that the Kanto Kubō title became common...
, Mitsukane
Ashikaga Mitsukane
was a Nanboku-chō period warrior, and the Kamakura-fu's third Kantō Kubō, . Being the eldest son, he succeeded his father Ujimitsu in 1398 at the age of 21 when he died during an epidemic.. Like him, Mitsukane aspired more or less openly to the shogunate and, like him and his successors, failed to...
, Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji was the Kamakura-fu's fourth Kantō kubō during the Sengoku period in Japan. During his long and troubled rule the relationship between the west and the east of the country reached an all-time low. Kamakura was finally attacked by shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori and retaken by force...
and Shigeuji
Ashikaga Shigeuji
was a Muromachi period warrior and the Kamakura-fu's fifth and last Kantō Kubō . Fourth son of fourth Kubō Ashikaga Mochiuji, he succeeded his father only in 1449, a full decade after his death by seppuku. His childhood name was...
. The last kubō had to escape to Koga
Koga, Ibaraki
is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan.-Old City of Koga:The city has its origins in the Tokugawa period when a castle was built in the 16th century at the river crossing point and a town sprang up around it. The site of the castle is still visible near Koga 1st elementary school. The modern city was...
, in today's Ibaraki prefecture, and he and his descendants thereafter became known as the Koga kubō. According to the Shinpen Kamakurashi
Shinpen Kamakurashi
The is an Edo period compendium of topographic, geographic and demographic data concerning the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and its vicinities. Consisting of eight volumes and commissioned in 1685 by Tokugawa Mitsukuni to three vassals, it contains for example information about...
, a guide book published in 1685, more than two centuries later the spot where the kubō's mansion had been was still left empty by local peasants in the hope he may one day return.
A long period of chaos and war followed the departure of the last Kantō kubō (the Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
). Kamakura was heavily damaged in 1454 and almost completely burned during the Siege of Kamakura (1526)
Siege of Kamakura (1526)
In the 1526 siege of Kamakura, Satomi Sanetaka led forces of the Uesugi clan against the Hōjō, who had taken Edo from the Uesugi two years earlier. The city was defended by a number of retainers of Hōjō Ujitsuna, including members of the Itō and Ogasawara families.The Uesugi forces burned much of...
. Many of its citizens moved to Odawara when it came to prominence as the home town of the Late Hōjō clan
Late Hojo clan
The ' was one of the most powerful warrior clans in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region.The clan is traditionally reckoned to be started by Ise Shinkurō, who came from a branch of the prestigious Ise clan, a family in the direct employment of the Ashikaga...
. The final blow to the city was the decision taken in 1603 by the Tokugawa
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
shoguns to move the capital to nearby Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
, the place now called Tokyo. The city never recovered and gradually returned to be the small fishing village it had been before Yoritomo's arrival. Edmond Papinot's "Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan", published in 1910 during the late Meiji period, describes it as follows:
Kamakura. A small town (7250 inh.) in SagamiSagami Provincewas an old province in the area that is today the central and western Kanagawa prefecture. It was sometimes called . Sagami bordered on Izu, Musashi, Suruga provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Sagami Bay...
which for several centuries was the second capital of Japan. [...] At present there remain of the splendor of the past only the famous Daibutsu and the Tsurugaoka Hachiman temple.
The Meiji period and the 20th century
After the Meiji restorationMeiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
Kamakura's great cultural assets, its beach and the mystique that surrounded its name made it as popular as it is now, and for pretty much the same reasons. The destruction of its heritage nonetheless didn't stop: during the anti-Buddhist violence of 1868 (haibutsu kishaku
Haibutsu kishaku
is a term that indicates a current of thought continuous in Japan's history which advocates the expulsion of Buddhism from Japan...
) that followed the official policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism (shinbutsu bunri
Shinbutsu Bunri
The term in Japanese indicates the forbidding by law of the amalgamation of kami and buddhas made during the Meiji Restoration. It also indicates the effort made by the Japanese government to create a clear division between native kami beliefs and Buddhism on one side, and Buddhist temples and...
) many of the city temples were damaged. In other cases, because mixing the two religions was now forbidden, shrines or temples had to give away some of their treasures, thus damaging their cultural heritage and decreasing the value of their properties. Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's giant } (the two wooden warden gods usually found at the sides of a Buddhist temple's entrance), for example, being objects of Buddhist worship and therefore illegal where they were, were brought to Jufuku-ji, where they still are. The shrine also had to destroy Buddhism-related buildings, for example its tahōtō
Tahōtō
A is a form of Japanese pagoda found primarily at Esoteric Shingon and Tendai school Buddhist temples. It is unique among pagodas because it has an even number of stories...
tower, its , and its shichidō garan
Shichidō garan
is a Japanese Buddhist term indicating the seven halls composing the ideal Buddhist temple compound. This compound word is composed by the word , literally meaning "seven halls", and , meaning "temple". The term is often shortened to just garan. To which seven halls the term refers to varies, and...
. Some Buddhist temples were simply closed, like Zenkō-ji, to which the now-independent Meigetsu-in
Meigetsu-in
is a Rinzai Zen temple of the Kenchō-ji school in Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Famous for its hydrangeas, it's also known as The Temple of Hydrangeas . The main object of worship is goddess Shō Kannon .- History :...
used to belong.
In 1890, the railroad, which until then had arrived just to Ofuna, reached Kamakura bringing in tourists and new residents, and with them a new prosperity. Part of the ancient Dankazura (see above) was removed to let the railway system's new Yokosuka Line pass.
The volcanic eruption of Sakurajima
Sakurajima
, also romanized as Sakurashima or Sakura-jima, is an active composite volcano and a former island of the same name in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyūshū, Japan...
in January 1914, covered the city in ashes. Lava flows connected the mainland with what had been a small island in the bay.
The damage caused by time, centuries of neglect, politics, and modernization was further compounded by nature in 1923. The epicenter of the Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
that year was deep beneath Izu Ōshima
Izu Oshima
is a volcanic island in the Izu Islands and administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan government, Japan, lies about 100 km south of Tokyo, 22 km east of the Izu Peninsula and 36 km southwest of Bōsō Peninsula. serves as the local government of the island...
Island in Sagami Bay, a short distance from Kamakura. Tremors devastated Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, the port city of Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
, causing widespread damage throughout the Kantō region. It was reported that the sea receded at an unprecedented velocity, and then waves rushed back towards the shore in a great wall of water over seven meters high, drowning some and crushing others beneath an avalanche of waterborne debris. The total death toll from earthquake, tsunami, and fire exceeded 2,000 victims. Large sections of the shore simply slid into the sea; and the beach area near Kamakura was raised up about six-feet; or in other words, where there had only been a narrow strip of sand along the sea, a wide expanse of sand was fully exposed above the waterline.
Many temples founded centuries ago are just careful replicas, and it's for this reason that Kamakura has just one National Treasure
National treasures of Japan
National Treasures are the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs...
in the building category (the Shariden at Engaku-ji
Engaku-ji
right|thumb|A stone carvingNot to be confused with Enryaku-ji in Kyoto., or Engaku-ji , is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa prefecture to the south of Tokyo...
). Much of Kamakura's heritage was for various reasons first lost and later rebuilt.
Nichiren in Kamakura
Kamakura is known among Buddhists for having been during the 13th century the cradle of Nichiren BuddhismNichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...
. Founder Nichiren
Nichiren
Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
wasn't a native: he was born in Awa Province
Awa Province (Chiba)
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on the tip of the Boso Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or...
, in today's Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
, but it was only natural to a preacher to come here because at the time the city was the political center of the country. He settled down in a straw hut in the Matsubagayatsu district, where three temples (Ankokuron-ji, Myōhō–ji, and Chōshō-ji), have been fighting for centuries for the honor of being the true heir of the master. During his turbulent life Nichiren came and went, but Kamakura always remained at the heart of his religious activities. It's here that, when he was about to be executed by the Hōjō Regent for being a troublemaker, he was allegedly saved by a miracle, it's in Kamakura that he wrote his famous , or "Treatise on Peace and Righteousness", it's here that he was rescued and fed by monkeys and it's here that he preached.
Some Kamakura locations important to Nichiren Buddhism are:
- The three temples in Matsubagayatsu
Ankokuron-ji claims to have on its grounds the cave where the master, with the help of a white monkey, hid from his persecutors. (However Hosshō-ji in Zushi's Hisagi district makes the same claim, and with a better historical basis.) Within Ankokuron-ji lie also the spot where Nichiren used to meditate while admiring Mount Fuji, the place where his disciple Nichiro was cremated, and the cave where he is supposed to have written his Risshō Ankoku Ron.
Nearby Myōhō–ji
Myoho–ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren sect in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It is one of a group of three built near the site in Matsubagayatsu, or the , where Nichiren, founder of the Buddhist sect that bears his name, is supposed to have had his hut...
(also called "Koke-dera" or "Temple of Moss"), a much smaller temple, was erected in an area where Nichiren had his home for 19 years.
The third Nichiren temple in Nagoe, Chōshō-ji
Chosho-ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren sect in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It's one of a group of three built near the site in Matsubagayatsu , the second is an alternative reading of the characters for Nagakatsu, the founder's first name....
, also claims to lie on the very spot where it all started.
- The on Komachi Ōji in the KomachiKomachi (Kanagawa)is a locality in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, defined as the part of town north of the Ebisubashi bridge on the Namerigawa. The part of town south of the same bridge is called .- References :...
district contains the very stone from which he used to harangue the crowds, claiming that the various calamities that were afflicting the city at the moment were due to the moral failings of its citizens. - The former execution ground at KataseKataseKatase is a village in Alajõe Parish, Ida-Viru County, in northeastern Estonia. It's located on the northern shore of Lake Peipus. Katase has a population of 75 .Katase was first mentioned in 1419....
's Ryūkō-ji where Nichiren was about to be beheaded (an event known to Nichiren's followers as the ), and where he was miraculously saved when thunder struck the executioner. Nichiren had been condemned to death for having written the Risshō Ankoku Ron. Every year, on September 12, Nichiren devotees gather to celebrate the anniversary of the miracle. - The , the pine tree on the roads between Harisuribashi and Inamuragasaki from which Nichiren hanged his kesa (a Buddhist stole) while on his way to Ryūkō-ji. The original pine tree however died long ago and, after having been replaced many times, now no longer exists.
Famous locations
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s and Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
shrines, some of them, like Sugimoto-dera, over 1,200 years old. Kōtoku-in
Kotoku-in
is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.The temple is renowned for its , a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.- The Great Buddha :...
, with its monumental outdoor bronze statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
of Amida Buddha
Amitabha
Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...
, is the most famous. A 15th century tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
destroyed the temple that once housed the Great Buddha, but the statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since. This iconic Daibutsu is arguably amongst the few images which have come to represent Japan in the world's collective imagination. Kamakura also hosts the so-called Five Great Zen Temples (the Kamakura Gozan
Five Mountain System
The system, more commonly called simply Five Mountain System, was a network of state-sponsored Zen Buddhist temples created in China during the Southern Song Dynasty . The term "mountain" in this context means "temple" or "monastery", and was adopted because many monasteries were built on isolated...
).
The architectural heritage of Kamakura is almost unmatched, and the city has proposed some of its historic sites for inclusion in UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
's World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s list. It must be remembered, however, that much of the city was devastated in the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 and that many temples and shrines, however founded centuries ago, are physically just careful replicas.
Some of Kamakura's highlights are:
- The Asaina PassKamakura's Seven EntrancesThe city of Kamakura, Kanagawa in Japan, is closed off on three sides by very steep hills and on the fourth by the sea: before the construction of several modern tunnels and roads, the so-called Seven Entrances , or were its main links to the rest of the world...
and its Kumano Jinja - Ankokuron-jiAnkokuron-jiis a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren sect in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It is one of a group of three built near the site in Matsubagayatsu , have been fighting for centuries for the honor of being the sole heir of the master. All three say they lie on the very spot where he used to have his hut,...
- An'yō-in
- Chōju-ji, one of Ashikaga Takauji's two "bodaijiBodaijiA , in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their soul's favor. The name is because in Japan the term , which originally meant just Buddhist enlightenment , has also come to mean either the...
" (funeral temples) - Engaku-jiEngaku-jiright|thumb|A stone carvingNot to be confused with Enryaku-ji in Kyoto., or Engaku-ji , is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa prefecture to the south of Tokyo...
, ranked Number Two among Kamakura's Great Zen Temples - Hatakeyama Shigeyasu's graveHatakeyama Shigeyasu's gravewas a Kamakura period warrior who fell victim of political intrigue in 1205. The grave under a tabu no ki tree near the Yuigahama end of Wakamiya Ōji Avenue in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan and next to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's first torii is traditionally supposed to be his...
- Hōkai-jiHōkai-ji (Kamakura)is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Often called , or "bush-clover temple", because those flowers are numerous in its garden, its existence is directly linked to a famous tragedy that on July 4, 1333 wiped out almost the entire Hōjō clan, ruler of Japan for 135 years...
, dedicated to the memory of the Hōjō clan - Jōchi-jiJochi-jiis a Buddhist Zen temple in Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Engaku-ji school of the Rinzai sect and is ranked fourth among Kamakura's Five Mountains...
, ranked Number Four among Kamakura's Great Zen Temples - Jōmyō-jiJōmyō-ji (Kamakura)is a Zen Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect, Kenchō-ji school, in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Jōmyō-ji is Number Five of the five temples known as Kamakura Gozan , and the only one of the five not founded by a member of the Hōjō clan...
temple, ranked Number Five among Kamakura's Great Zen Temples - Jufuku-jiJufuku-ji, usually known as Jufuku-ji, is a temple of the Kenchō-ji branch of the Rinzai sect and the oldest Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Ranked third among Kamakura's prestigious Five Mountains, it is number 24 among the pilgrimage temples and number 18 of the temples...
, ranked Number Three among Kamakura's Great Zen Temples - Hase-deraKaikozan Hase-derais one of the great Buddhist temples in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, famous for housing a massive wooden statue of Kannon...
- Kamakura-gūKamakura-guis a shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was erected by Emperor Meiji in 1869 to worship the spirit of Prince Morinaga, who was imprisoned and later executed where the shrine now stands in 1335...
in NikaidōNikaidoNikaido is a Japanese surname, and may refer to:* The Nikaidō clan, a family of Japanese daimyo* Nikaidō, an administrative division of Kamakura, Kanagawa* Miho Nikaido, a Japanese actress* Yukari Nikaido, a Japanese singer...
, built on the spot where Prince MorinagaPrince Morinagawas a son of Emperor Go-Daigo and Minamoto no Chikako executed by Ashikaga Tadayoshi in 1335.When Moriyoshi was 18, Go-Daigo had him named the head abbot of the Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei....
, son of Emperor Go-Daigo, was imprisoned and then beheaded by Ashikaga TadayoshiAshikaga Tadayoshiwas a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period of Japanese history and a close associate of his elder brother Takauji, the first Muromachi shogun. Son of Ashikaga Sadauji and of a daughter of Uesugi Yorishige, the same mother as Takauji, he was a pivotal figure of the chaotic transition...
in 1335. - Kamakura Museum of National TreasuresKamakura Museum of National TreasuresThe or Kamakura Museum or Kamakura National Treasure House is a museum located on the grounds of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū in Yukinoshita, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The museum houses around 4800 objects from the Kamakura region including sculptures, paintings and industrial art objects...
- Kanagawa Prefectural Ofuna Botanical GardenKanagawa Prefectural Ofuna Botanical GardenThe is a botanical garden located at 1018 Okamoto, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It is open daily except Mondays; an admission fee is charged.The garden was founded in 1961 as the Prefectural Flower Center Ofuna Botanical Garden on a former site of the Kanagawa National Agricultural Experiment Stations...
- Kenchō-jiKencho-jiKenchō-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. These temples were at the top of the Five Mountain System, a network of Zen temples started by the Hōjō...
, ranked Number One among Kamakura's Great Zen Temples and, together with Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, the pride of the city - Kōmyō-ji
- Kōtoku-inKotoku-inis a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.The temple is renowned for its , a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.- The Great Buddha :...
and its Great Buddha - The Kamakura Museum of LiteratureKamakura Museum of LiteratureThe is a small museum in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, that contains material about writers who have lived, died, or were active in the city of Kamakura itself. The museum displays personal effects, manuscripts, first editions, and documents owned by well over a hundred writers of Japanese...
, the former villa of Marquises Maeda - Meigetsu-inMeigetsu-inis a Rinzai Zen temple of the Kenchō-ji school in Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Famous for its hydrangeas, it's also known as The Temple of Hydrangeas . The main object of worship is goddess Shō Kannon .- History :...
- Moto HachimanMoto Hachimanis a small but very old and historically important Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref., Japan.-History:Although officially called , this tiny shrine in Zaimokuza is universally known as Moto Hachiman , and in front of its torii stands a stele with the words...
- Ōfuna Kannon
- Tatsunokuchi, where MongolMongol invasions of JapanThe ' of 1274 and 1281 were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer the Japanese islands after the submission of Goryeo to vassaldom. Despite their ultimate failure, the invasion attempts are of macrohistorical importance, because they set a limit on Mongol expansion, and rank...
emissaries were beheaded and buried. - Katase's Ryūkō-ji
- Sasuke Inari ShrineSasuke Inari Shrineis a Shinto shrine in Kamakura and the site of the Hidden Village of Kamakura.-History:Tradition holds that Sasuke Inari Shrine was created by Minamoto Yoritomo. While in exile in Izu, Yoritomo was visited in a dream by an old man from the Hidden Village of Kamakura who instructed Yoritomo of the...
Sasuke Inari Shrine and Hidden Village
- Sugimoto-deraSugimoto-derais a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the oldest temple in Kamakura and, together with Hōkai-ji, the only one of the Tendai denomination. The temple is Number one of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit. Two of the three statues of goddess Kannon it enshrines...
- The Shakadō Pass (see description below)
- Tōkei-jiTokei-ji, also known as or ), is a Buddhist temple and a former nunnery, the only survivor of a network of five nunneries called , in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the Rinzai school of Zen's Engaku-ji branch, and was opened by Hōjō Sadatoki in 1285. It is best known as...
, famous in the past as a refuge for battered women - Tomb of Minamoto no YoritomoTomb of Minamoto no YoritomoThe is a monument in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, located some hundred meters north of the site where the palace called Ōkura Bakufu, seat of Minamoto no Yoritomo's government, once stood. Although there is no evidence his remains are actually there, it is commonly assumed to be the resting place...
- Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, symbol of the city
- Wakamiya ŌjiWakamiya Ojiis a 1.8 km street in Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, unusual because it is at the same time the city's main avenue and the approach of its largest Shinto shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Over the centuries Wakamiya Ōji has gone thorough an extreme change. A heavily...
Avenue with its three toriiToriiA is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred...
and cherry trees - YuigahamaYuigahamais a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is in fact the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from Shichirigahama, to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, which...
, a popular beach - Zeniarai Benzaiten ShrineZeniarai Benten shrine', popularly known simply as Zeniarai Benten, is a Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. In spite of its small size, it is the second most popular spot in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture after Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. Zeniarai Benzaiten is popular among tourists because the...
, where visitors go to wash their coins - Zuisen-jiZuisen-jiis a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect in Nikaidō's near Kamakura, Japan. During the Muromachi period it was the family temple of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura : four of the five kubō are buried there in a private cemetery closed to the public and first kubō Ashikaga Motouji's is also known...
, funeral temple of the Ashikaga kubōKanto kubowas a title equivalent to shogun assumed by Ashikaga Motouji after his nomination to Kantō kanrei, or deputy shogun for the Kamakura-fu, in 1349. Motouji transferred his original title to the Uesugi family, which had previously held the hereditary title of , and would thereafter provide the Kantō...
, rulers in Kamakura during the early Muromachi periodMuromachi periodThe is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
Festivals and other events
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, they are relatively small-scale events attended mostly by locals and a few tourists. January in particular has many because it's the first month of the year, so authorities, fishermen, businesses and artisans organize events to pray for their own health and safety, and for a good and prosperous working year. Kamakura's numerous temples and shrines, first among them city symbols Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and Kenchō-ji, organize many events too, bringing the total to over a hundred.
January
4th - at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū: This event marks the beginning of the working year for local construction workers who, for the ceremony, use traditional working tools. The festival also commemorates Minamoto no Yoritomo, who ordered the reconstruction of the main building of the shrine after it was destroyed by fire in 1191. The ceremony takes place at 1:00 PM at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū.February
Day before the first day of spring (usually Feb. 3) - at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, Kenchō-jiKencho-ji
Kenchō-ji is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. These temples were at the top of the Five Mountain System, a network of Zen temples started by the Hōjō...
, Hase-dera
Kaikozan Hase-dera
is one of the great Buddhist temples in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, famous for housing a massive wooden statue of Kannon...
, Kamakura-gū
Kamakura-gu
is a shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was erected by Emperor Meiji in 1869 to worship the spirit of Prince Morinaga, who was imprisoned and later executed where the shrine now stands in 1335...
, etc. : Celebration of the end of winter. Beans are scattered in the air to ensure good luck.
April
2nd to 3rd Sunday: Kamakura Matsuri at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and other locations: A whole week of events that celebrate the city and its history.May
5th - at the Kamakura Shrine: Archers in samurai gear shoot arrows at a straw deer while reciting old poems.July
1st - 31st - Little Thailand Beach Event: A group of Thai restaurants and shops stays open until the end of August on YuigahamaYuigahama
is a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is in fact the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from Shichirigahama, to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, which...
's beach.
August
10th (or following Monday if it falls on a Saturday): A full hour of fireworks on the beach in YuigahamaYuigahama
is a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is in fact the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from Shichirigahama, to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, which...
(Cancelled in 2010 and 2011.
September
14th, 15th and 16th - : Famous festival with many attractions, the most famous of which is the , or Japanese horseback archery, which takes place on the 16th.The Shakadō Pass
According to the plaque near the pass itself, the name derives from the fact that third Shikken
Shikken
The was the regent for the shogun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. The post was monopolized by the Hōjō clan, and this system only existed once in Japanese history, between 1203 and 1333...
Hōjō Yasutoki
Hojo Yasutoki
Hōjō Yasutoki was the third shikken of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. He strengthened the political system of the Hōjō regency.He was the eldest son of second shikken Yoshitoki...
built here a Shakadō (a Buddhist temple devoted to Shakyamuni
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
) dedicated to his father Yoshitoki
Hojo Yoshitoki
was the second Hōjō shikken of the Kamakura shogunate and head of the Hōjō clan. He was the eldest son of Hōjō Tokimasa and his wife Hōjō no Maki...
's memory. The original location of the temple is unclear, but it was closed some time in the middle Muromachi Period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
. The Shaka Nyorai
Buddharupa
Buddharūpa is the Sanskrit and Pali term used in Buddhism for statues or models of the Buddha.-Commonalities:...
statue that is supposed to have been its main object of cult has been declared an Important Cultural Property
Important Cultural Properties of Japan
The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....
and is conserved at Daien-ji in Meguro, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
Although important, the pass was not considered one of the Entrances because it connected two areas both fully within Kamakura. Its date of creation is unclear, as it's not explicitly mentioned in any historical record, and it could be therefore recent. It seems very likely however that a pass which connected the Kanazawa Road to the Nagoe area called and mentioned in the in relation to a 1180 war in Kotsubo
Kotsubo
Kotsubo is a small fishing village in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is half way between Zushi and the old Japanese capital of Kamakura...
between the Miura clan
Miura clan
The ' was one of the branch families descended from the Taira clan. They held large fiefs, and great political influence. They were one of the primary opponents of the Hōjō family of regents, in the mid-13th century, and again at the beginning of the 16th...
and the Hatakeyama clan
Hatakeyama clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim of political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in battle by Hōjō forces in Kamakura...
is indeed the Shakadō Pass. In any case, the presence of two yagura tombs (see the following section) within it means that it can be dated to at least the Kamakura period. It was then an important way of transit, but it was also much narrower than today and harder to pass.
Inside the pass there are two small yagura
Yagura
Yagura is the Japanese word for "tower" or "turret." The word is most often seen in reference to structures within Japanese castle compounds, but can be used in a variety of other situations as well. The bandstand tower erected for Bon Festival is often called a yagura, as are similar structures...
tombs containing some gorintō
Gorinto
is the name of a Japanese type of Buddhist pagoda believed to have been first adopted by the Shingon and Tendai sects during the mid Heian period. It is used for memorial or funerary purposes and is therefore common in Buddhist temples and cemeteries. It is also called or , where the term sotoba...
. On the Shakadōgayatsu side of the pass, just before the first houses a small street on the left takes to a large group of yagura called Shakadōgayatsu Yagura-gun. There rest the bones of some of the hundreds of Hōjō family members who committed suicide at Tōshō-ji
Tosho-ji
was the Hōjō clan's family temple in Kamakura during the Kamakura period. Its founder was Taikō Gyōyū and it was constructed in 1237 by Hōjō Yasutoki in memory of his mother, who had her tomb there. According to the Taiheiki, from its foundation until the end of the Kamakura shogunate every regent...
after the fall of Kamakura in 1333.
The pass appears many times in some recent Japanese films like "The Blue Light", Tada, Kimi o Aishiteru, and . The pass is presently closed to all traffic because of the danger posed by falling rocks.
On April 28, 2010, a day of heavy rain, a large section of rock on the Omachi side of the Shakado Pass gave way, making the road temporarily impassable for pedestrians.
The yagura tombs
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
s in Jufuku-ji
Jufuku-ji
, usually known as Jufuku-ji, is a temple of the Kenchō-ji branch of the Rinzai sect and the oldest Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Ranked third among Kamakura's prestigious Five Mountains, it is number 24 among the pilgrimage temples and number 18 of the temples...
's cemetery, about 1 km from Kamakura Station
Kamakura Station
is a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company .-Lines:Kamakura Station is served by the Yokosuka Line and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line. It is located 4.5 km from the junction at Ōfuna Station, and 53.9 km from Tokyo Station...
.
Usually present in the cemetery of most Buddhist temples in the town, they are extremely numerous also in the hills surrounding it, and estimates of their number always put them in the thousands. Yagura can be found either isolated or in groups of even 180 graves, as in the . Many are now abandoned and in a bad state of preservation.
The reason why they were dug is not known, but it is thought likely that the tradition started because of the lack of flat land within the narrow limits of Kamakura's territory. Started during the Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
(1185–1333), the tradition seems to have declined during the following Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
, when storehouses and cemeteries came to be preferred.
True yagura can be found also in the Miura Peninsula
Miura Peninsula
is a peninsula located in Kanagawa, Japan. It lies south of Yokohama and Tokyo and divides Tokyo Bay, to the east, from Sagami Bay, to the west. Cities and towns on the Miura Peninsula include Yokosuka, Miura, Hayama, Zushi, and Kamakura....
, in the Izu Peninsula
Izu Peninsula
The is a large mountainous peninsula with deeply indented coasts to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshū, Japan. Formerly the eponymous Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture...
, and even in distant Awa Province (Chiba)
Awa Province (Chiba)
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on the tip of the Boso Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or...
.
Tombs in caves can also be found in the Tohoku region, near Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, and in Ishikawa Prefecture
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.- History :Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.- Geography :Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast...
, however they are not called yagura and their relationship with those in Kanagawa Prefecture is unknown.
Rail
The East Japan Railway CompanyEast Japan Railway Company
is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
's Yokosuka Line
Yokosuka Line
The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company .The Yokosuka Line connects in Chūō, Tokyo and in Yokosuka, Kanagawa...
has three stations within the city. Ōfuna Station
Ofuna Station
is a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company .-Lines:Ōfuna Station is served by the Tōkaidō Main Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line, Negishi Line , Yokosuka Line as well as the Shonan Monorail....
is the northernmost. Next is Kita-Kamakura Station
Kita-Kamakura Station
is a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company .-Lines:Kita-Kamakura Station is served by the Yokosuka Line and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line...
. In the center of the city is Kamakura Station
Kamakura Station
is a railway station in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company .-Lines:Kamakura Station is served by the Yokosuka Line and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line. It is located 4.5 km from the junction at Ōfuna Station, and 53.9 km from Tokyo Station...
, the central railway station in the city.
Kamakura Station is the terminal for the Enoshima Electric Railway
Enoshima Electric Railway
The connects Kamakura Station in Kamakura, with Fujisawa Station in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Stations en route include Hase Station, the stop closest to Kōtoku-in, the temple with the colossal outdoor statue of Amida Buddha. It is fully owned by the Odakyu Group of companies.- Train...
. This narrow-gauge railway runs westward to Fujisawa
Fujisawa, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 407,731 and a population density of 5,870 people per km². The total area is 69.51 km²-Geography:...
, and part of its route runs parallel to the seashore. After leaving Kamakura Station, trains make eight more station stops in the city. One of them is Hase Station
Hase Station (Kanagawa)
is a railway station on the Enoshima Electric Railway located in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is 8.3 kilometers from the terminus of the Enoden at Fujisawa Station.- History :Hase Station was opened on August 16, 1907...
, closest to Hase-dera
Kaikozan Hase-dera
is one of the great Buddhist temples in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, famous for housing a massive wooden statue of Kannon...
and Kōtoku-in
Kotoku-in
is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.The temple is renowned for its , a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha which is one of the most famous icons of Japan.- The Great Buddha :...
.
Education
Kamakura has many educational facilities. The city operates sixteen public elementary schools and nine middle schools. The national government has one elementary and one middle school, and there are two private elementary and six private middle schools. At the next level are four prefectural and six private high schools. Also in Kamakura is a prefectural special school.Kamakura Women's University
Kamakura Women's University
is a private women's college in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.The predecessor of the school, a women's vocational school, was founded in 1943. It was chartered as a women's college in 1959. The present name was adopted in 1989. The school specializes in home economics and child...
is the city's sole university.