Kamakura (Kamakura City, Nanagawa Pref.)

Important ceremonies associated with the Kamakura Shogunate were held here, and the shrine played an important role in the daily life of the times, as it was the center of the city and all of the roads in the area. In addition, dedicatory horseback archery and Sumo matches were held at the shrine, which was popular with the warrior samurai class as a place of worship.

Kamakura Shogunate:

The first government of Japan led by the warrior samurai class, from the last part of the 12th century through the first part of the 14th century.

Horseback archery:

A traditional Japanese ceremony in which participants rode on horseback and fired arrows at a target as they raced by at full speed.

Kotokuin Temple is also known as Kamakura Daibutsu, and it belongs to the Jodo Buddhist sect. A vast Amida Buddha statue, called the Daibutsu, is located on the grounds of this temple. Construction of the 11.31-meter-tall Daibutsu was commenced in 1238 by Inada-no-Tsubone, according to the wishes of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Tradition has it that the construction took six years.

Minamoto-no-Yoritomo:

The first of the Kamakura Shoguns (generals)

Engakuji Temple was founded by Mugaku Sogen with financial backing by Hojo Tokimune. This temple, the foremost Zen temple in the Kanto region, was established to console the souls of the warriors who died in the war between Japan and Gen, the Mongolian dynasty that ruled China, irrespective of which side they fought on.

Tokimune Hojyo:

A powerful figure active in the Kamakura Shogunate in the 13th century

Sogen Mugaku:

A Zen monk that came from China to Japan at the end of the 13th century

Gen Dynasty:

The Mongol dynasty that ruled China and the Mongolian plateau from the end of the 13th century through the middle of the 14th century