User:Urashimataro/anyoin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kamakura (鎌倉市 Kamakura-shi?) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called Renpu (鎌府?)[1].

Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is considered a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Regency and of the Shogunate during the Kamakura Period. According to The Institute for Research on World-Systems,[2] Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 A.D., with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto by 1200 A.D.

As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 173,588 and a density of 4,380 persons per km². The total area is 39.60 km².

Kamakura was designated as a city on [November 3]], 1939.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Surrounded to the north, east and west by mountains and to the south by the open water of Sagami Bay, Kamakura is a natural fortress[3]. Before the construction of several tunnels and modern roads that now connect it to Ofuna and Zushi, on land it could be entered only through seven narrow passes called Kamakura's Seven Mouths (鎌倉七口?), and was therefore easily defensible[3]. The first of the Kamakura shoguns, Minamoto no Yoritomo, chose it as a base partly because it was his ancestors' land, partly because of these physical characteristics[3]. To the north of the city stands Mt. Genji (源氏山?) (92m), which then passes behind the Daibutsu and reaches Inamuragasaki[3] and the sea. From the north to the east there are then Mt. Rokkokuken (六国見?) (147 m), Mt. Taihei (大平山?) (159 m), Mt. Tendai (天台山?)（141), and Mt. Kinubari (衣張山?)（120 m), which extend all the way to Iijimagasaki and Wakae Island, on the border with Kotsubo and Zushi[3]. These hills all have low elevations between between 100 and 150m but, because of their steepness, are sometimes nicknamed Kamakura Alps[3].

Administratively speaking, Kamakura borders with the City of Yokohama to the north, with the City of Zushi to the east, and with the City of Fujisawa to the west[3]. The city of Kamakura is the result of the fusion of the cities of Koshigoe (腰越?), absorbed in 1939, and Ofuna, absorbed in 1948, with the City of Kamakura proper[3].

[edit] Early history

The earlies traces of human settlements go back to at least 10 thousand years ago[4]. Obsidian and stone tools found at excavation sites near Jōrakuji Temple (常楽寺?) Ofuna were dated to the Old Stone Age (between 100 thousand and 10 thousand years ago)[4]. During the Jomon period the sea level was higher than now and all the area until Totsuka-ku and Sakae-ku in Yokohama was under water[4]. The oldest pottery fragments found come from hillside settlements of the period between 7500 BCE and 5000 BCE. In the late Jomon period the sea receded and civilization progressed[4].

During the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE the sea receded further almost to today's coastline and the economy shifted radically from hunting and fishing to farming[4].

Kamakura was thought to have been in itys early days a rather small center, but we know now that by the Nara Period (about 700 CE) there were both temples and shrines, so it is assumed that it was already a center of a certain size[4]. The Sugimotodera Temple was build during this period and is one of the city's oldest temples[4].

[edit] Etymology of the name Kamakura and its first use

There are various hypotheses about the origin of its name[5]. According to the most likely one Kamakura, surrounded as it is on three sides by mountains, was likened both to a cooking stove, or kamado (竃?), and to a warehouse, or kura (倉?), because both only have one side open[5]. It seems therefore that it was called at first Kamadokura, and that the syllable do was then gradually dropped[5].

Another more picturesque explanation is a legend according to which Fujiwara no Kamatari stopped at Yuigahama on his way to today's Ibaraki Prefecture where he wanted to pray for peace at the Kashima Jingu Shrine[5]. He dreamed of an old man who promised support, and the day after he found next to his bed a type of sword called kamayari[5]. Kamatari enshrined it in a place called Okura. Kamayari plus Okura turned into Kamakura[5].


We know that the name was already in use in the Nara period (710 - 794) because it appears in the Kojiki, or Records of Ancient Matters[5]. The oldest book in Japan, the Kojiki was compiled in 721 by O no Yasumaro[5]. Kamakura is also mentioned in the Manyōshū, written around the 8th to 9th century[3]. However, the city clearly appears in the historical record only with Minamoto no Yoritomo and his shogunate of 1192[3].


[edit] Kamakura's Heyday

The events, the historical characters, and the culture of the century that followed have been the background and the inspiration for countless poems, books, jidaigeki TV dramas, Kabuki plays, even manga and videogames, and are necessary to make sense of much of what one sees in today's Kamakura.

The man who put Kamakura in world history books was Minamoto no Yoritomo, who after the almost complete destruction and defeat of his family went from being an exile in hiding to being the most powerful main in the land. Defeating the Taira clan (the same Taira who had destroyed his family), he became de facto ruler of Japan and founded the Kamakura shogunate, destined to last until 1333 and to have immense repercussions over the country's history. Though Minamoto no Yoritomo was not the first to ever hold the title of Shogun, he was the first to wield it over the whole nation[6]. The beginning of the Kamakura shogunate marked the rise of military (samurai) power and the suppression of the power of the emperor, who was compelled to preside without effective political or military power, until the Meiji Restoration over 650 years later[6]. In addition, this war and its aftermath established red and white, the colors of the Taira and Minamoto standards, as Japan's national colors. Today, these colors can be seen on the flag of Japan, and also in banners and flags in sumo and other traditional activities[6].

In 1180 Yoritomo entered Kamakura, in 1185 his forces, commanded by legendary hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune, vanquished the Taira and in 1992 he received from Emperor Go-Toba the title of seii-tai shogun (征夷大将軍?)[7]. The Minamoto power dynasty however ended as quickly and unexpectedly as it had started because Yoritomo himself, his first son and second shogun, Minamoto no Yoriie, and his second son and third shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo all died early (Yoriie and Sanetomo assassinated)[7]. By 1219, barely 30 years into the shogunate, the Minamoto dynasty had ended[7]. Its power had ended even earlier, because from 1203 onwards the family of the first Shogun Yoritomo's wife Hōjō Masako, the Hōjō clan, effectively had total control over the nation through its monopoly of the title Shikken (Regent), setting up a Hōjō family only court that discussed and made most of the significant decisions[8].

[edit] The fall, renaissance and final decline of the city

The site in Kamakura where Tōshō-ji, the Hōjō family temple once stood, and where the Hōjō committed mass suicide in 1333
The site in Kamakura where Tōshō-ji, the Hōjō family temple once stood, and where the Hōjō committed mass suicide in 1333

A major change took place in the Kamakura Shogunate when the Hōjō, acting as regents for the shogun, usurped power.[9]. It was under their regency that Kamakura built many of its best and most prestigious temples and shrines, for example Kenchō-ji, Engaku-ji, Jufuku-ji, Jōchi-ji, and Zeniarai Benten Shrine and therefore the Hōjō family crest in the city is still ubiquitous.

Finally, on July 5, 1333 warlord Nitta Yoshisada, who was an Emperor loyalist, attacked Kamakura and took it[10][9]. About 870 Hōjō samurai, including the last three Regents, committed suicide at their family temple, Tōshō-ji, whose ruins have been found in today's Ōmachi[9]. The city was then sacked and many temples were burned[11]. Many regular citizens imitated the Hōjō, and an estimated total of over six thousand died on that day of their own hand[10]. In 1953 556 skeletons of that period were found during excavations near Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine's Ichi no Torii in Yuigahama, all of people who had died of a violent death, probably at the hand Nitta's forces[9]. The Kamakura period was over, and Kamakura would never be the same again.

When Ashikaga Takauji became shogun in 1335, he at first established his residence in the same site where Yoritomo's mansion had been, but in 1336 he left Kamakura in charge of a Kanryō (管領?), or governor-general, and moved to Kyoto[10]. Kamakura slowly recovered from the blow it had received and became a kind of secondary administrative center where laws and regulations were made[10]. As the city of residence of the governor, Kamakura recovered part of its former affluence and prestige, but not only was it nonetheless a shadow of its former self, but this period of renaissance lasted barely a century[10].

During those hundred years, there was often friction between the kanryō and his representatives, or shitsuji[10]. The Uesugi family in particular, whose members occupied the latter office, ended up having practically the same powers as the governor, and in 1445 the representative openly attacked him[10]. The governor fled to Chiba and died in exile, dealing a strong blow to the prestige of the city[10].

Kamakura was heavily damaged during a siege in 1454 and almost completely burned by a great fire in 1526[10]. Many of its citizens moved to Odawara when it came to prominence as the seat of the Hōjō family, with which they had had such a long relationship[10]. The final blow to the city was the decision taken in 1603 by the Tokugawa shoguns to move the capital to nearby Edo, now called Tokyo[10]. The city gradually became the fishing village it used to be before Yoritomo's arrival[10].

[edit] The Meiji era and the 20th century

After the Meiji restoration its great cultural assets, its beach and the mystique that surrounded its name made it as popular as it is now, and for pretty much the same reasons[10]. The destruction of its heritage nonetheless didn't stop: during the anti-buddhist violence of 1868 (Haibutsu kishaku) that followed the official policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism (Shinbutsu Bunri) many of the city temples were damaged, and in some occasions their wood was sold as firewood[10]. In other cases, because mixing the two religions was now forbidden, shrines or temples had to give away some of their properties, thus damaging lessening their cultural heritage and the value of their properties[10]. Tsurugaoka Hachiman's giant Niō (仁王?)] (the two wooden wardens usually found at the sides of a temple's entrance), for example, being objects of Buddhist worship and therefore illegal where they were, were brought to Jufuku-ji, where they still are[12][13].

In 1890 the railroad, which until then had arrived just to Ofuna, reached Kamakura, bringing in tourists and new residents, and with them a new prosperity[10]. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1922 destroyed much of Kamakura's heritage, which had to be rebuilt[14]. Many temples are brand-new, and it's for this reason that that Kamakura has just one National treasure (the Shariden at Engaku-ji)[3].


Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is considered a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Regency and of the Shogunate during the Kamakura Period. According to The Institute for Research on World-Systems,[2] Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 A.D., with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto by 1200 A.D.

As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 173,588 and a density of 4,380 persons per km². The total area is 39.60 km².

Kamakura was designated as a city on [November 3]], 1939.

[edit] Geography

Surrounded to the north, east and west by mountains and to the south by the open water of Sagami Bay, Kamakura is a natural fortress[3]. Before the construction of several tunnels and modern roads that now connect it to Ofuna and Zushi, on land it could be entered only through seven narrow passes called Kamakura's Seven Mouths (鎌倉七口?), and was therefore easily defensible[3]. The first of the Kamakura shoguns, Minamoto no Yoritomo, chose it as a base partly because it was his ancestors' land, partly because of these physical characteristics[3]. To the north of the city stands Mt. Genji (源氏山?) (92m), which then passes behind the Daibutsu and reaches Inamuragasaki[3] and the sea. From the north to the east there are then Mt. Rokkokuken (六国見?) (147 m), Mt. Taihei (大平山?) (159 m), Mt. Tendai (天台山?)（141), and Mt. Kinubari (衣張山?)（120 m), which extend all the way to Iijimagasaki and Wakae Island, on the border with Kotsubo and Zushi[3]. These hills all have low elevations between between 100 and 150m but, because of their steepness, are sometimes nicknamed Kamakura Alps[3].

Administratively speaking, Kamakura borders with the City of Yokohama to the north, with the City of Zushi to the east, and with the City of Fujisawa to the west[3]. The city of Kamakura is the result of the fusion of the cities of Koshigoe (腰越?), absorbed in 1939, and Ofuna, absorbed in 1948, with the City of Kamakura proper[3].

[edit] Early history

The earlies traces of human settlements go back to at least 10 thousand years ago[4]. Obsidian and stone tools found at excavation sites near Jōrakuji Temple (常楽寺?) Ofuna were dated to the Old Stone Age (between 100 thousand and 10 thousand years ago)[4]. During the Jomon period the sea level was higher than now and all the area until Totsuka-ku and Sakae-ku in Yokohama was under water[4]. The oldest pottery fragments found come from hillside settlements of the period between 7500 BCE and 5000 BCE. In the late Jomon period the sea receded and civilization progressed[4].

During the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE the sea receded further almost to today's coastline and the economy shifted radically from hunting and fishing to farming[4].

Kamakura was thought to have been in itys early days a rather small center, but we know now that by the Nara Period (about 700 CE) there were both temples and shrines, so it is assumed that it was already a center of a certain size[4]. The Sugimotodera Temple was build during this period and is one of the city's oldest temples[4].

[edit] Etymology of the name Kamakura and its first use

There are various hypotheses about the origin of its name[5]. According to the most likely one Kamakura, surrounded as it is on three sides by mountains, was likened both to a cooking stove, or kamado (竃?), and to a warehouse, or kura (倉?), because both only have one side open[5]. It seems therefore that it was called at first Kamadokura, and that the syllable do was then gradually dropped[5].

Another more picturesque explanation is a legend according to which Fujiwara no Kamatari stopped at Yuigahama on his way to today's Ibaraki Prefecture where he wanted to pray for peace at the Kashima Jingu Shrine[5]. He dreamed of an old man who promised support, and the day after he found next to his bed a type of sword called kamayari[5]. Kamatari enshrined it in a place called Okura. Kamayari plus Okura turned into Kamakura[5].


We know that the name was already in use in the Nara period (710 - 794) because it appears in the Kojiki, or Records of Ancient Matters[5]. The oldest book in Japan, the Kojiki was compiled in 721 by O no Yasumaro[5]. Kamakura is also mentioned in the Manyōshū, written around the 8th to 9th century[3]. However, the city clearly appears in the historical record only with Minamoto no Yoritomo and his shogunate of 1192[3].


[edit] Kamakura's Heyday

The events, the historical characters, and the culture of the century that followed have been the background and the inspiration for countless poems, books, jidaigeki TV dramas, Kabuki plays, even manga and videogames, and are necessary to make sense of much of what one sees in today's Kamakura.

The man who put Kamakura in world history books was Minamoto no Yoritomo, who after the almost complete destruction and defeat of his family went from being an exile in hiding to being the most powerful main in the land. Defeating the Taira clan (the same Taira who had destroyed his family), he became de facto ruler of Japan and founded the Kamakura shogunate, destined to last until 1333 and to have immense repercussions over the country's history. Though Minamoto no Yoritomo was not the first to ever hold the title of Shogun, he was the first to wield it over the whole nation[6]. The beginning of the Kamakura shogunate marked the rise of military (samurai) power and the suppression of the power of the emperor, who was compelled to preside without effective political or military power, until the Meiji Restoration over 650 years later[6]. In addition, this war and its aftermath established red and white, the colors of the Taira and Minamoto standards, as Japan's national colors. Today, these colors can be seen on the flag of Japan, and also in banners and flags in sumo and other traditional activities[6].

In 1180 Yoritomo entered Kamakura, in 1185 his forces, commanded by legendary hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune, vanquished the Taira and in 1992 he received from Emperor Go-Toba the title of seii-tai shogun (征夷大将軍?)[7]. The Minamoto power dynasty however ended as quickly and unexpectedly as it had started because Yoritomo himself, his first son and second shogun, Minamoto no Yoriie, and his second son and third shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo all died early (Yoriie and Sanetomo assassinated)[7]. By 1219, barely 30 years into the shogunate, the Minamoto dynasty had ended[7]. Its power had ended even earlier, because from 1203 onwards the family of the first Shogun Yoritomo's wife Hōjō Masako, the Hōjō clan, effectively had total control over the nation through its monopoly of the title Shikken (Regent), setting up a Hōjō family only court that discussed and made most of the significant decisions[15].

[edit] The fall, renaissance and final decline of the city

The site in Kamakura where Tōshō-ji, the Hōjō family temple once stood, and where the Hōjō committed mass suicide in 1333
The site in Kamakura where Tōshō-ji, the Hōjō family temple once stood, and where the Hōjō committed mass suicide in 1333

A major change took place in the Kamakura Shogunate when the Hōjō, acting as regents for the shogun, usurped power.[9]. It was under their regency that Kamakura built many of its best and most prestigious temples and shrines, for example Kenchō-ji, Engaku-ji, Jufuku-ji, Jōchi-ji, and Zeniarai Benten Shrine and therefore the Hōjō family crest in the city is still ubiquitous.

Finally, on July 5, 1333 warlord Nitta Yoshisada, who was an Emperor loyalist, attacked Kamakura and took it[10][9]. About 870 Hōjō samurai, including the last three Regents, committed suicide at their family temple, Tōshō-ji, whose ruins have been found in today's Ōmachi[9]. The city was then sacked and many temples were burned[16]. Many regular citizens imitated the Hōjō, and an estimated total of over six thousand died on that day of their own hand[10]. In 1953 556 skeletons of that period were found during excavations near Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine's Ichi no Torii in Yuigahama, all of people who had died of a violent death, probably at the hand Nitta's forces[9]. The Kamakura period was over, and Kamakura would never be the same again.

When Ashikaga Takauji became shogun in 1335, he at first established his residence in the same site where Yoritomo's mansion had been, but in 1336 he left Kamakura in charge of a Kanryō (管領?), or governor-general, and moved to Kyoto[10]. Kamakura slowly recovered from the blow it had received and became a kind of secondary administrative center where laws and regulations were made[10]. As the city of residence of the governor, Kamakura recovered part of its former affluence and prestige, but not only was it nonetheless a shadow of its former self, but this period of renaissance lasted barely a century[10].

During those hundred years, there was often friction between the kanryō and his representatives, or shitsuji[10]. The Uesugi family in particular, whose members occupied the latter office, ended up having practically the same powers as the governor, and in 1445 the representative openly attacked him[10]. The governor fled to Chiba and died in exile, dealing a strong blow to the prestige of the city[10].

Kamakura was heavily damaged during a siege in 1454 and almost completely burned by a great fire in 1526[10]. Many of its citizens moved to Odawara when it came to prominence as the seat of the Hōjō family, with which they had had such a long relationship[10]. The final blow to the city was the decision taken in 1603 by the Tokugawa shoguns to move the capital to nearby Edo, now called Tokyo[10]. The city gradually became the fishing village it used to be before Yoritomo's arrival[10].

[edit] The Meiji era and the 20th century

After the Meiji restoration its great cultural assets, its beach and the mystique that surrounded its name made it as popular as it is now, and for pretty much the same reasons[10]. The destruction of its heritage nonetheless didn't stop: during the anti-buddhist violence of 1868 (Haibutsu kishaku) that followed the official policy of separation of Shinto and Buddhism (Shinbutsu Bunri) many of the city temples were damaged, and in some occasions their wood was sold as firewood[10]. In other cases, because mixing the two religions was now forbidden, shrines or temples had to give away some of their properties, thus damaging lessening their cultural heritage and the value of their properties[10]. Tsurugaoka Hachiman's giant Niō (仁王?)] (the two wooden wardens usually found at the sides of a temple's entrance), for example, being objects of Buddhist worship and therefore illegal where they were, were brought to Jufuku-ji, where they still are[17][18].

In 1890 the railroad, which until then had arrived just to Ofuna, reached Kamakura, bringing in tourists and new residents, and with them a new prosperity[10]. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1922 destroyed much of Kamakura's heritage, which had to be rebuilt[14]. Many temples are brand-new, and it's for this reason that that Kamakura has just one National treasure (the Shariden at Engaku-ji)[3].


[edit] Nichiren in Kamakura

The monument on the spot at Ryūkō-ji where Nichiren was miraculously saved from execution
The monument on the spot at Ryūkō-ji where Nichiren was miraculously saved from execution

Kamakura is famous among Buddhists for having been during the 13th century the cradle of Nichiren Buddhism. Founder Nichiren wasn't a native: he was born in Awa Province, in today's Chiba Prefecture, but it was only natural to a preacher to come here because at the time the city was the political center of the country[10]. He settled down in a straw hut in the Matsubagayatsu[19] district, where three temples (Ankokuron-ji, Myōhō–ji, and Chōshō-ji), have been fighting for centuries for the honor of being the true heir of the master[10]. During his turbulent life Nichiren came and went, but Kamakura always remained at the heart of his religious activities. Once in Katase he was about to be executed by the Hōjō regency for being a troublemaker and was saved literally by a miracle, it's in Kamakura that he wrote his famous Risshō Ankoku Ron (立正安国論?), or "Treatise on Peace and Righteousness"[10], and it's here that he preached.

The locations most important to Nichiren Buddhism are:

  • The three temples in Matsubagayatsu

Ankokuron-ji claims to have on its grounds the cave where the master, with the help of a white monkey, hid from his persecutors[10]. (It must be noted however that Hosshō-ji in Zushi's Hisagi district makes the same claim[20][21].) Within Ankokuron-ji lie also the spot where Nichiren used to meditate while admiring Mount Fuji, the place where his most faithful disciple Nichiro was cremated, and the cave where he is supposed to have written his Risshō Ankoku Ron[10].

Nearby Myōhō–ji (also called "Koke-dera" or "Temple of Moss"), a much smaller temple, was erected in an area where Nichiren had his home for 19 years[10].

  • The Nichiren Tsujiseppō Ato (日蓮聖人辻説法跡?) on Komachi Ōji in the Komachi district contains the very stone from which he used to harangue the crowds, claiming that the various calamities that were afflicting the city at the moment were due to the moral failings of its citizens.
  • The former execution ground at Katase's Ryūkō-ji where Nichiren was about to be beheaded (an event known to Nichiren's followers as the Tatsunokuchi Persecution (龍ノ口法難?)), and where he was miraculously saved when thunder struck the executioner[10]. Every year on September 12 Nichiren devotees gather to celebrate the anniversary of the miracle[1].


Main article: Kamakura Festivals and Events

[edit] Festivals and events 1

Kamakura has many festivals in all seasons, usually based on its rich historical heritage and often sponsored by businesses[1]. Unlike Kyoto's festivals, however, they are small-scale events attended mostly by locals[1]. January for example has many because it's the first month of the year, and religious authorities, fishermen, businesses and artisans organize events to pray for a good and prosperous year. The city's numerous temples and shrines, first among them city symbols Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine and Kenchō-ji organize many too, bringing the total to over a hundred[1].


What follows is the list of festivals chosen by the City of Kamakura for its official site[22]. For a complete list, see Kamakura Today - Annual events (English).

[edit] January

January has the busiest Festival schedule.

1st - Hatsumōde (初詣?) at Tsurugaoka Hachiman: Hatsumōde is a ritual first visit of the year to a Shinto shrine, usually performed during the first three days of January. During the first week of the year Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine attracts around 2 million visitors from all over Kantō[1].

2nd - Funaoroshi (船おろ?) at Sakanoshita Coast: This festival marks the beginning of the working year for local fishermen, who pray for big catches and safety of their boats[1].

4th - Funaiwai (船祝い?) at Koshigoe: This festival marks the beginning of the working year for local fishermen, who pray for big catches and safety of their boats[1].

4th - Chōna-Hajimeshiki (手斧初式?) Festival at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine: This festival marks the beginning of the working year for local construction workers who for the ceremony use traditional working tools[1]. The festival also commemorates Minamoto no Yoritomo, who first performed those rites[22]. The ceremony takes place at 1:00 PM at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman shrine[22].

5th - Jōma Shinji (除魔神事?) Festival at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine: Festival to keep evil spirits away[22]. Archers shoot at a target on which the word "devil" is painted[22].

8th - Ōshimesai]] (大注連祭?) at Hakusan Jinja: A centipede with 12 feet, 6 meters long weighing 120 kg supposed to be an emissary of Vaisravana is built to ensure the safety and prosperity of the local population[1].

10th - Kamakura Ebisu (鎌倉えびす?) at Hongaku-ji: The festival of Ebisu, God of Commerce. Young women dressed in traditional costumes (Fuku Musume) sell bamboo lucky charms and sake[1].

15th- Sagichō Festival at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine: The paper decorations used during the New Year festivities are publicly burned[22].

[edit] February

3rd - Setsubun Matsuri (節分祭?) at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine: Celebration of the end of winter. Beans are scattered to ensure good luck[1].

11th: The Daikokutōe at Chōshō-ji temple is a ceremony where Buddhist monks douse themselves with cold water to pray for the country-s safety[1].

[edit] April

2nd to 3rd Sunday of April: A whole week of events that celebrate the city and its history[22].


[edit] May

5th - (?) at Kusajishi Festival at the Kamakuragu Shrine:

[edit] July

15th =Segaki or the hungry-ghost-feeding rite at Kenchoji Little Bangkok

[edit] August

7th - 9th Paper-Lantern (Bonbori) Festival at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine 10th (or following Monday if it falls on a Saturday): Two full hours of fireworks on Yuigahama Beach 13-15th Bon (Ullabon in Skt.) Festival or the Buddhist All Souls' Day


[edit] September

14th, 15th and 16th Annual Festival at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

19th and 20th Annual Festival at Kamakuragu Shrine

[edit] October

October 8 and 9: The Takigi-Nō consists of Nō plays held at the Kamakura Shrine[22].

[edit] November

Early November: Treasure display at Kencho-ji and Engaku-ji. Objects normally not visible by the public are on display for three days.

[edit] December

1st to the 8th: Musha Matsuri, or Samurai Festival, with archery games and samurai procession.

18th: Toshi no Ichi is the Year End Ceremony at the Hase-dera in Hase[22].

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kamakura Official Textbook for Culture and Tourism (鎌倉観光文化検定公式テキストブック?), Kamakura Shunshūsha, 2008 (Japanese)
  2. ^ a b Cities, Empires and Global State Formation. Institute for Research on World-Systems
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Japanese wikipedia, Kamakura article
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kamakura: History and the Historic Sites - through the Heian Period
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Kamakura:　History & Historic Sites - Origin of the Name Kamakura
  6. ^ a b c d e f See article Genpei War
  7. ^ a b c d e f Kamakura:　History & Historic Sites - the Kamakura Period
  8. ^ See article Kamakura Shogunate
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h A Guide to Kamakura. History (January 2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Mutsu, Iso (1995/06). "Historical Sketch", Kamakura. Fact and Legend (in English). Tuttle Publishing. ISBN ISBN 0804819688. 
  11. ^ See for example article An'yō-in
  12. ^ See article Jufuku-ji
  13. ^ Mutsu, Iso (1995/06). "Jufuku-ji", Kamakura. Fact and Legend (in English). Tuttle Publishing. ISBN ISBN 0804819688. 
  14. ^ a b [http://www.kcn-net.org/e_kama_history/history/history4.htm Kamakura: History and the Historic Sites - Kamakura in the Modern era (the Meiji period) - and following sections, accessed o April 5, 2008
  15. ^ See article Kamakura Shogunate
  16. ^ See for example article An'yō-in
  17. ^ See article Jufuku-ji
  18. ^ Mutsu, Iso (1995/06). "Jufuku-ji", Kamakura. Fact and Legend (in English). Tuttle Publishing. ISBN ISBN 0804819688. 
  19. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named yatsu
  20. ^ Shakyamuni Buddha and His Supporters, Nichirenshu.org, accessed on May 25, 2008
  21. ^ http://www.j-area2.com/area/shonan/hosshoji.html Photo of Hosshō-ji's gate with its sculpted white monkeys
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i Matsuri Index (Japanese)