is a small but very old and historically important
Shinto shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion.
Overview
Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings.
The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
in
Kamakura, Kanagawa
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939.
Kamak ...
Pref.,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
History
Although officially called , this tiny shrine in
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. Although Yu ...
is universally known as ''Moto Hachiman'' ("original Hachiman", a nickname which appears even on road signs), and in front of its ''
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 mundane to the sacred.
The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest ...
'' stands a stele with the words . This unattended shrine consists of just a ''
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 mundane to the sacred.
The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest ...
'', two stone lanterns (''
tōrō
are a type of traditional East Asian lantern made of stone, wood, or metal. Originating in China, stone lanterns spread to Japan, Korea and Vietnam, though they are most commonly found in both China – extant in Buddhist temples and traditional ...
''), and a ''
honden
In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a sta ...
'' or sanctuary, where the ''
kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
''
Hachiman
In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...
is enshrined. It is however illustrious because it is the original location of the great
Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, symbol of Kamakura.
The sign that stands in front of the shrine says:
About the origin of the name Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, the Azuma Kagami
is a Japanese historical chronicle.
The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...
says that:
"Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, after his victorious campaign against Abe no Sadatō, in August 1063 erected this temple and transferred in it part of Kyoto's Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū's ''kami''. In February 1081 the shrine was repaired by Minamoto no Yoshiie
Minamoto No Yoshiie (源 義家; 1039 – 4 August 1106), also known as Hachimantarō, was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North).
The first son of Minamoto ...
."
It is likely that this area was then called "Tsurugaoka".
On the 12th day of the 10th month of 1180 Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...
, in order to worship his ancestors, had Yui Wakamiya transferred from its current spot to the mountain north of an area called Kobayashi, and that became Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. When the ''Azuma Kagami'' says that Minamoto no Yoritomo at last visited his distant ancestors at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, it means this shrine. The new shrine used its predecessor's name without changes. From that moment, this place has been called Moto Hachiman.
Yoriyoshi's decision had profound consequences for the country, because, since Hachiman was the Minamoto's tutelary ''kami'', Kamakura was now the land of his family's ancestors.
[Kusumoto (2002:18-19)] This, together with the fact Kamakura is a natural fortress and his desire to leave Kyoto, convinced Yoritomo this was the right place to found his shogunate.
As a consequence, Kamakura became the unofficial capital of Japan.
It is unclear when the shrine's official name was changed into Yui Wakamiya.
Moto Hachiman is National Historic Site.
[Kamiya (2008:180)]
Notes
References
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External links
Area:Zaimokuzaby the Kamakura Citizen's Net, retrieved on June 22, 2008.
{{commons category, Moto Hachiman
Buildings and structures in Kamakura, Kanagawa
Shinto shrines in Kanagawa Prefecture