Tsurugaoka Hachimangū

Background

Tsurugaoka Hachimangū stands in Yukinoshita, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and is Kamakura's most important shrine. The straight avenue of Wakamiya Ōji runs from the shore at Yuigahama to the shrine; it is said to have been laid out by Minamoto no Yoritomo on the model of Suzaku Ōji in Kyoto. Its raised central section, the Dankazura, is lined with cherry trees. The precinct holds the Genpei Ponds, the Maiden stage, the Junior Shrine (Wakamiya) below and the Main Shrine (Hongū) 61 steps above. The Genji Pond has three islands and the Heike Pond four; according to the shrine, they symbolise "birth" (prosperity) and "death" (decline). The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Ōjin, Empress Jingū and Himegami, together known as the Hachiman deities. In 1063, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi brought a division of the kami from Iwashimizu Hachimangū in Kyoto and enshrined Hachiman at Yuigahama in Kamakura (today's Yui Wakamiya in Zaimokuza) as the clan deity of the Minamoto. After Minamoto no Yoritomo set up his shogunate in Kamakura, he moved the shrine to its present site; the shrine's official site gives the year as 1180, while English Wikipedia gives 1191. From then on it was revered as the guardian of the shogunate, of Kamakura and of eastern Japan. The present Main Shrine building was rebuilt in 1828 under Tokugawa Ienari, the 11th Tokugawa shogun, and, together with the Wakamiya, is an Important Cultural Property of Japan. For some 700 years from its founding until the Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order of 1868, it was also a Buddhist temple, known as Tsurugaoka Hachimangū-ji; since then it has been purely a Shinto shrine.

Local customs

• Walk along Wakamiya Ōji and the Dankazura, pass through the torii and climb the Great Stone Steps to worship at the Main Shrine, then look out over Kamakura from the top of the steps
• on clear days you can see the Pacific. Stroll the precinct to enjoy the cherry blossom and summer lotuses of the Genpei Ponds. During the annual grand festival on 16 September you can watch yabusame (mounted archery) on the precinct's riding ground
• for other festival dates, check the official website.

Travel tips

• The precinct has the Kamakura Bunkakan Tsurugaoka Museum, teahouses and other facilities, and part of the trunk of the fallen great ginkgo can be seen up close in the museum café
• some exhibitions charge separately, so check on site. The shrine is at its liveliest during cherry-blossom season on the Dankazura and at festival times
• you can visit all year round, and festival dates are listed on the official website.
• Take the JR Yokosuka Line to Kamakura Station and walk from there
• you can also walk all the way from the Kita-Kamakura side (check official notices for services and fares).