Kamakura
(Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine)
Kamakura (Japanese: 鎌倉市; -shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 31 miles (50 km) south-south-west of Tokyo (to which it is linked by the Yokosuka Railway Line to Yokosuka, Kanagawa).
As of December 1, 2005, the city has an estimated population of 171,241 and the density of 4,324.27 persons per km². The total area is 39.60 km².
Kamakura was designated as a city on November 3, 1939.
Description
Surrounded by mountains on three sides and the open water of Sagami Bay on the fourth, Kamakura is a natural fortress, only one hour’s train ride south of Tokyo. A lot of the 65 temples and 19 shrines were established around eight centuries ago, when, for a short period, Kamakura was Japan’s political and military hub.[1]
History
In the Genpei Wars (1180-1185), there was a power struggle between two militaristic clans, the Minamoto (also known as Genji) and the Taira (also known as Heike). Lord Kiyomori of the Taira clan was first to gain power, but spared the lives of the Minamoto brothers, Yoritomo and Yoshitsune. In the Battle of Dannoura (1185), the Minamoto fleet, commanded by Yoshitsune defeated the Taira. There then began a rival between the Minamoto brothers that led to eventually led to the winning brother, Yoritomo, creating his Bafuku (tent government) at Kamakura in 1192.[2]
The military aspect of the government was given predominance; military governors worked alongside civil administrators and taxes were imposed to support the military. Semi-feudalism, where peasants were given land to farm in return for loyalty to their local lord, was established throughout Japan. After his death in 1199, Yoritomo’s Bafuku struggled to survive under his descendants who lacked his intense character and organizational skills.[3]
Over the subsequent century, many majestic monuments were constructed in Kamakura. Monks fleeing the Song-dynasty of China, founded many Zen temples with the support of the warrior class that “shared similar ideals of single-minded devotion to duty and rigorous self-discipline.”[4] In 1219, power passed to the Hōjō clan, who administrated as regents behind figurehead shoguns. After the Mongol invasions in the late thirteenth century, the Hōjō clan’s power began to diminish. In 1333, Emperor Go-Daigo re-established power in Kyoto, leaving the last Hōjō regent and eight hundred retainers to commit seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment).[5] Before vanishing into anonymity in the late fifteenth century, Kamakura retained it’s status as an important military center. Kamakura continued to remain a religious destination for pilgrimages because of its grand temples; and in the last century, has turned into a tourist destination and an attractive residential area because of its proximity to Tokyo.
Tourism
Kamakura has a beach which, in combination with the temples and the proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination. The city is well-provided with restaurants and other tourist-oriented amenities.
Kamakura is home to a microbrewery, the beer is available locally, bottled, and the range includes a pale ale, a pilsner style lager, and a stout. Information on these beers (in Japanese) can be found here http://www.kamakura-beer.co.jp/
Kamakura is also noted for its "senbei," which are crisp rice cakes, grilled and sold fresh along the main shopping street. These are very popular with tourists, especially Japanese tourists.
Kamakura is also the terminal for the Enoshima Electric Railway, locally known as "Eno-den." This traditional narrow gauge railway runs to Fujisawa, to the west, part of the route takes it parallel to the seashore.
Kamakura is now mainly known for its temples and shrines. Kōtoku-in, with the monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha, is the most famous of these. A 15th Century tsunami destroyed the temple that once housed the Great Buddha, but the statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since. Magnificent Zen temples like Kencho-ji and Engaku-ji; the Tokei-ji (a nunnery that was a refuge for women who wanted to divorce their husbands); the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine; the Hase-dera, an ancient Kannon temple; the graves of Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako; and the Kamakura-gu where Prince Morinaga was executed, top the list of Kamakura's most famous historical and religious sites.
Tourism Attractions
- Hase-dera
- Kōtoku-in
- Yuiga Beach
- Meigetsu-in
- Tōkei-ji
- Kenchō-ji
- Zaimokuza Beach
- Moto Hachiman Shrine
- Chōshō-ji
- Kuhon-ji
- Anyō-in
- Ankokuron-ji
- Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine
- Ofuna Kannon [1]
Notes
- ↑ Dodd, Jan, and Simon Richmond (2001). Modern The Rough Guide to Japan. Rough Guides, p. 218.
- ↑ Dodd, Jan, and Simon Richmond (2001). Modern The Rough Guide to Japan. Rough Guides, p. 831.
- ↑ Dodd, Jan, and Simon Richmond (2001). Modern The Rough Guide to Japan. Rough Guides, p. 831.
- ↑ Dodd, Jan, and Simon Richmond (2001). Modern The Rough Guide to Japan. Rough Guides, p. 220.
- ↑ Dodd, Jan, and Simon Richmond (2001). Modern The Rough Guide to Japan. Rough Guides, p. 220.
Resources
- Alspaugh, Emmanuelle, and Deborah Kaufman. 2005. Fodor's Japan. New York: Fodor's. ISBN: 140001364X 9781400013647
- Dodd, Jan, and Simon Richmond. 2005. The rough guide to Japan. London: Rough Guides. ISBN: 1843532727 9781843532729
- Harris, Victor, and Ken Matsushima. 1991. Kamakura: the renaissance of Japanese sculpture, 1185-1333 = Kamakura jidai no chōkoku. London: Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press. ISBN: 0714114510 : 9780714114514
- Kawashima, Terry. 2001. Writing margins: the textual construction of gender in Heian and Kamakura Japan. Harvard East Asian monographs, 201. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN: 0674005163 9780674005167
- Mass, Jeffrey P. 1982. Court and Bakufu in Japan: essays in Kamakura history. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN: 0300026536 : 9780300026535
- Mass, Jeffrey P. 1979. The development of Kamakura rule, 1180-1250: a history with documents. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press. ISBN: 0804710031 9780804710039
- Mōri, Hisashi. 1974. Sculpture of the Kamakura period. New York: Weatherhill. ISBN: 0834810174 9780834810174
- Payne, Richard Karl. 1998. Re-visioning "Kamakura" Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN: 082482024X 9780824820244 0824820789 9780824820787
- Rowthorn, Chris. 2005. Japan. Footscray, Vic: Lonely Planet. ISBN: 1740599241 9781740599245
- Shinoda, Minoru. 1960. The founding of the Kamakura shogunate, 1180-1185. Records of civilization: sources and studies, no. 57. New York: Columbia University Press.
External links
- Kamakura City Official Web Sit Guide for Foreign Residents and Visitors in English
- A Guide to Kamakura
| |||
| Cities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Atsugi | Ayase | Chigasaki | Ebina | Fujisawa | Hadano | Hiratsuka | Isehara | Kamakura | Kawasaki | Minamiashigara | Miura | Odawara | Sagamihara | Yamato | Yokohama (capital) | Yokosuka | Zama | Zushi | |||
| Districts | |||
| Aiko | Ashigarakami | Ashigarashimo | Koza | Miura | Naka | |||
|
Template:Kanagawa-geo-stub
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- ↑ "Oslo is world's most expensive city: survey", Reuters, January 31, 2006. Retrieved February 1. (inactive).
