Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu begins with Yui Wakamiya, which was originally enshrined in 1063, when Minamoto no Yoriie secretly invited the spirit of Iwashimizu Hachimangu from Kyoto in celebration of defeating Taira no Tadamune, and was established around Yuigahama (the area where Moto Hachiman is located today).

About 120 years later, in 1180, when Minamoto no Yoritomo, the fifth generation after Yoriie, entered Kamakura, he moved Yui Wakamiya Shrine to the northern mountain of Kobayashi-go (near the present lower worship hall) in order to honor his ancestors.

Although it was damaged by fire in 1191, Yoritomo cut into the middle slope of the mountain behind it and again invited a分霊 from Iwashimizu Hachimangu, creating Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in a renewed form that became almost the same as the current arrangement of the upper and lower shrines.

The enshrined deities are the three kami of Emperor Ojin, Empress Jingu, and Himegami, collectively known as Hachiman Okami.

Yoritomo placed Hachimangu in the position that would correspond to the Imperial Palace in Heian-kyo, and built his residence and shogunate at a distance to the east of the shrine, thereby expressing his sincere devotion to the deity.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu was the spiritual center of the Kamakura samurai, and important policies of the shogunate were carried out there in the form of seeking divine guidance. Because Yoritomo revered Hachimangu, warriors throughout the country followed his example, and numerous Hachimangu shrines came to be enshrined across Japan.

Even after Yoritomo’s death, the shrine continued to receive deep reverence across the ages, with the Hojo clan, who served as regents, as well as the Ashikaga clan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Tokugawa family all striving to rebuild and restore it. It is a symbolic presence of Kamakura.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu was not only the guardian deity of the Kamakura shogunate, but also the most important shrine in the shogunate, serving as the center for religious policy and the venue for various official ceremonies.

From Hatsumode, said to have been initiated by Yoritomo, to the present day, a variety of traditional events are held throughout the year.

Among them, the annual festival, which carries on the tradition of Hojoe, originally begun as the shogunate’s most important religious observance, is held every September and includes the performance of the Yabusame horseback archery ritual.

The great ginkgo tree beside the large stone stairway, which had watched over Kamakura’s history, fell in the early hours of March 10, 2010, due to strong winds. Today, however, its root sprouts have grown into young trees, and they continue to grow alongside the transplanted sacred tree (the parent ginkgo). A part of the trunk can also be viewed up close inside the Kamakura Bunkakan Museum.