is a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

in Kamakura,

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

, Japan. It was erected by Emperor Meiji in 1869 to enshrine the spirit of

Prince Morinaga (1308 – August 12, 1335) was a Japanese prince and monk. He was the son of Emperor Go-Daigo and his consort Minamoto no Chikako. Moriyoshi was named by his father as the head abbot of the Enryaku-ji temple on Mount Hiei. Go-Daigo attempted t ...

, who was imprisoned and later executed where the shrine now stands in 1335 by order of Ashikaga Tadayoshi. For this reason, the shrine is also known as from the Prince's full name (Ōtōnomiya Morinaga). Prince Morinaga was

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Murom ...

's most dangerous political rival in Kyoto, so he was arrested with a pretext by him in 1334 and first kept prisoner there, then had him sent to Kamakura. Ashikaga's younger brother Tadayoshi held Morinaga captive for nine months in a small cave at the site of the present Kamakura-gū. When Tadayoshi was forced to retreat from Kamakura after losing a battle to

Hōjō Tokiyuki was a samurai of the Hōjō clan who fought both for and against the Imperial Court. His father was Hōjō Takatoki, last Shogunal Regent and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kamakura shogunate. Tokiyuki had fought against both the Imperial forces a ...

, before leaving he gave the order for Morinaga's execution. The Prince was beheaded on July 23, 1335. The cave still exists today in the rockface behind the shrine, and is a tourist attraction. It is four meters deep and has an area of 12 square meters. It is one of the

Fifteen Shrines of the Kenmu Restoration Minatogawa Shrine The Fifteen Shrines of the Kenmu Restoration (建武中興十五社, ''Kenmu chūko jūgosha'') are a group of Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its ...

References

* Religious buildings and structures completed in 1869 1869 establishments in Japan Shinto shrines in Kanagawa Prefecture {{Shinto-stub

See also

References