Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

When Minamoto no Yoritomo established his government at Kamakura in 1180 he moved this shrine to its present site and laid out the town around it - Wakamiya Oji, the avenue running from the shrine steps down to the beach at Yuigahama, was built as the city's spine and is still the main street, with a raised central causeway lined with cherry trees that Yoritomo is said to have built for his wife's safe childbirth. The shrine sits at the top of a broad stone stair; the Maiden hall at its foot is a working stage for dance and music. The great ginkgo that stood beside the stair, associated with a thirteenth-century assassination and reckoned a thousand years old, blew down in 2010; the stump was replanted and a shoot from it is now growing beside it. Three torii step down the avenue at intervals towards the sea.

History

The shrine was first built in 1063 at Zaimokuza, where the small Moto Hachiman now stands, as a branch of Iwashimizu Shrine, dedicated to Emperor Ōjin as Hachiman, to his mother Empress Jingū and to his wife. Minamoto no Yoritomo moved it to its present site, and the thousand-year-old ginkgo by its entrance was uprooted by a storm on 10 March 2010 (Wikipedia, Tsurugaoka Hachimangū).

What you'll find

• The city's spine - Wakamiya Oji running from the shrine steps to the beach.
• The raised causeway - a cherry-lined central path built in the 1180s.
• The great ginkgo - blown down in 2010, with a shoot from the stump now growing.
• The stone stair and Maiden - a broad approach with a working dance stage at its foot.

When to go

April for cherry along the avenue; all year otherwise. Two hours.

What to expect

Kamakura is extremely crowded on weekends and in blossom season, and the avenue becomes slow walking. Most buildings are later reconstructions. The famous ginkgo is a stump and a sapling now. Parking is minimal - come by train.

Nearby

Hokokuji is east; Hasedera and the Great Buddha are west.

Key facts