is a small but very old and historically important Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa

Kamakura, Kanagawa

is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...

 Pref., Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

History

Although officially called , this tiny shrine in Zaimokuza is universally known as Moto Hachiman ("original Hachiman", a nickname which appears even on road signs), and in front of its torii

Torii

A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred...

stands a stele with the words . This unattended shrine consists of just a torii

Torii

A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred...

, two stone lanterns (tōrō

Tōrō

A "灯篭" is just a simplified form of "灯籠". is a Japanese lantern made of stone, wood, or metal traditional in the Far East. In China extant specimen are very rare, and in Korea too they are not as common as in Japan. In Japan, tōrō were originally used only in Buddhist temples, where they lined and...

), and a honden

Honden

The , is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined kami, usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue. The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of its usually stands the haiden, or...

or sanctuary, where the kami

Kami

is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

Hachiman

Hachiman

In Japanese mythology, is the Japanese syncretic god of archery and war, incorporating elements from both Shinto and Buddhism. Although often called the god of war, he is more correctly defined as the tutelary god of warriors. He is also divine protector of Japan and the Japanese people...

 is enshrined. It is however illustrious because it is the original location of the great Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, symbol of Kamakura.

The sign that stands in front of the shrine says::

About the origin of the name Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, the Azuma Kagami

Azuma Kagami

The , or "mirror of the east", is a Japanese medieval text that chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō and his return to Kyoto in 1266...

 says that:
"Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, after his victorious campaign against Abe no Sadatō, in August 1063 erected this temple and transferred in it part of Kyoto's Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū's kami. In February 1081 the shrine was repaired by Minamoto no Yoshiie

Minamoto no Yoshiie

Minamoto no Yoshiie , also known as Hachimantarō, was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and Chinjufu shogun...

."

It is likely that this area was then called "Tsurugaoka".
On the 12th day of the 10th month of 1180 Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo

was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...

, in order to worship his ancestors, had Yui Wakamiya transferred from its current spot to the mountain north of an area called Kobayashi, and that became Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū. When the Azuma Kagami says that Minamoto no Yoritomo at last visited his distant ancestors at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, it means this shrine. The new shrine used its predecessor's name without changes. From that moment, this place has been called Moto Hachiman.

Yoriyoshi's decision had profound consequences for the country, because, since Hachiman was the Minamoto's tutelary kami, Kamakura was now the land of his family's ancestors . This, together with the fact Kamakura is a natural fortress and his desire to leave Kyoto, convinced Yoritomo this was the right place to found his shogunate. As a consequence, Kamakura became the unofficial capital of Japan.

It is unclear when the shrine's official name was changed into Yui Wakamiya.
Moto Hachiman is National Historic Site.

External links

• Area:Zaimokuza by the Kamakura Citizen's Net, retrieved on June 22, 2008.