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Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

■Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

This is Kamakura's most important shrine, built first in 1180 and, after a disastrous fire, againin 1191 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura Shogunate. The Shrine is designated to Hachiman, a Shintogod of war and also the patron deity to the Minamoto clan. Additionally, the souls of the Emperor Ojin,strongly identified with Hachiman, and his mother the Empress Jingu areenshrined here.

From ancienttimes, Hachiman was a god revered by both Shinto and Buddhists, for whom he wasassociated with an important bodhisattva. Up to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, this was reflected in the Shrine,with both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples operating alongside one another, their spheres of influence overlapping widely at times. The esoteric Shingon sect of Buddhism wasespecially active at the Shrine. With Meiji Era laws enforcing the separation of "pure" Japanese Shinto from foreignBuddhism, however, the character of the Shrine changed dramatically. Buddhist priests were expelled and many of thetemples and their holdings burned, razed, relocated or sold abroad.

Nevertheless, the Shrine is an impressive complex. Thebroad approach to the Shrine was built and dedicated by Yoritomo in the hopethat his wife Masako, pregnant with their third child, would give birth to ason. She did, and she also designed thetwo ponds that stand on either side of the path leading to the Shrine. Inside, the main hall is a vermilion structure that was rebuilt in 1828 by Ienari Tokugawa, the 11th Tokugawa Shogun. Next to the stone stairwayleading up to the main hall you'll see a large ginkgo tree, more than athousand years old according to the sign next to it. This is the very spot where the third Kamakura Shogun, Minamotono Sanetomo, was assassinated by his nephew Kugyo in 1219. As Sanetomo mounted the stairway, Kugyostepped out from behind the tree and cut him down with a sword. No one knows exactly why Kugyo assassinatedhis uncle, despite a great deal of speculation. Kugyo himself shed very little light on the question, having beenkilled by Sanetomo's guards moments after the assassination.

Among the sub-shrines on the grounds, the Shirahata is probably the most beautiful,painted in black lacquer and thickly surrounded by trees. You might easily overlook the oldest shrinein the complex, though. The tiny Maruyama Inari shrine stands on a mound to the left of the main hall, where itmay have been sheltered from the occasional fires that swept through portionsof the grounds. No one knows preciselyhow old it is, but its architecture is characteristic of the early Muromachiperiod, and it was probably built in the 14th century, though it'sbelieved that an earlier Inari shrine stood on the same spot long beforeYoritomo built the Hachimangu complex around it.

There's a lot tosee here, and there are also some interesting events throughout the year. There are huge crowds at New Year, with asmany as two million worshipers coming during the first three days of January. During the Kamakura Spring Festival on thethird Sunday of April, and also at the Shrine's own annual festival on September 16th, visitors have a rare opportunity to see yabusame, ortraditional mounted archery, with riders in period costume shooting arrows at aseries of fixed targets as they gallop the length of a dirt lane running fromthe east to west gate. This is a realspectacle, and not something many people will have a chance to see, so if you'rein the area on either of these days you should really consider a visit.

>>Access
2-1-31 Yukinoshima, Kamakura city, Kanagawa

JR Tokyo station====(55 min. by JR Yokosuka line)====Kamakura station====(10 min. on foot)====Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

JR Ofune station====(6 min. by JR Yokosuka line)====Kitakamakura station====(7 min. on foot)====Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

-Matt Mangham

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