藤原隆信（传） · Public domain
Late Heian to Kamakura period · 1147–1199
Minamoto no Yoritomo
源頼朝 · Japan
Founder of the Kamakura shogunate
After victory in the Genpei War he founded the Kamakura shogunate, ruling Japan from Kamakura in the east while the emperor and court in Kyoto became nominal heads of state. He was the first shogun in Japanese history to hold real power over the whole country; after his death his wife Hōjō Masako governed as regent.
Where the story happened
Places connected with this person
History · Great Buddha of Kamakura
The samurai capital where the Buddha sits
Kamakura was the seat of Japan's first warrior government. After winning the Genpei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo founded his shogunate with Kamakura as its base, and in 1191 he moved Tsurugaoka Hachimangū to its present site as the shogunate's guardian shrine. In 1219 the third shogun, Minamoto no Sanetomo, was assassinated at the foot of the shrine's stone steps by his nephew Kugyō; legend says the assassin hid behind the great ginkgo tree, but contemporary sources don't mention the tree, and this detail probably only appeared in the Edo period.
History · Hakone
Minamoto no Yoritomo prayed for victory at Hakone Shrine
During the Genpei War, after his defeat at nearby Ishibashiyama, Minamoto no Yoritomo came to Hakone Shrine to pray for victory over his enemies.
Visit
.jpg?width=800)