I was fortunate enough to visit this ancient city yesterday, along with some friends. It was a 2 and a half hour drive, but well worth it. The city is famous for its ancient Buddhist temples, especially the giant Buddha, which is really old, built in the 12th century I think. It used to be inside a building but a few hundred years ago it was damaged because of a high tide and big waves.
I took lots of pictures but I have to develop them, so here are a few I took from my phone:
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It has a lot of Chinese influence from Zen Buddhism and if you want to know more…
*At the end of the 12th century, Yoritomo Minamoto, chief of the Genji family, destroyed the rival Heike family, and was conferred the title of “Seii-Taishogun” (the generalissimo for the subjugation of barbarians) by the Emperor. Minamoto opened a new government in Kamakura-the first Shogunate government. This government continued until the middle of the 19th century. Minamoto structured governmental organizations and commenced the creation of a new capital. By about 1230, when Minamoto’s urban design was completed, the Kamakura government had attained a high level of prosperity. Furthermore, Kamakura had become a center of politics, diplomacy, culture, and other activities. Trade flourished with the Chinese Sung and Y an dynasties by way of Wakae Island, Japan’s oldest man-made harbor. A variety of Chinese influences, such as Zen sect Buddhism, Zen-style construction, Buddha sculptures and imagery, and carved lacquerware, were imported. These traditional arts and cultures transcended the prosperous history and culture of medieval Japan.
Within the city of Kamakura, there are twenty-six national, two prefectural, and nine municipal historic sites. The national historic sites include Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Wakamiya Oji, Kamakura’s five temples, such as Kenchoji and Engakuji, Kamakura’s seven steep slopes called Kiridoshi, Minamoto Yoritomo’s grave, the ruins of Yofukuji Temple, Inamuragasaki Cape, and Wakaejima - the ruins of an artificial harbor island.
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu was founded by Minamoto Yoritomo at the beginning of the Kamakura era by transferring a shrine sacred to the family’s ancestors to its present location from Motohachiman near the coast of Zaimokuza. While it was embraced as the guardian deity of samurai warriors, the Hachimangu shrine was also a Buddhist temple, and held joint ceremonies until the separation of Buddhist and Shinto ceremonies in the Meiji era. Indeed, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu played a central role in Japanese Buddhism during the Kamakura era. There were even times when other Buddhist temples, such as Todaiji, Toji, and Mitsuidera, were also governed by the shrine’s master. Wakamiya Oji, a street running straight from Hachimangu to the sea, was originally constructed as an approach to the shrine, and is still the main street of the city of Kamakura. *
(Taken from http://www.city.kamakura.kanagawa.jp/english/ )