Moto Hachiman ( 元八幡 ) is a small but very old and historically important Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref., Japan .
7-468: Although officially called Yui Wakamiya ( 由比若宮 ) , 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 stands a stele with the words Moto Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū ( 元鶴岡八幡宮 ) . This unattended shrine consists of just a torii , two stone lanterns ( tōrō ), and a honden or sanctuary, where
14-492: A voyage to China, allegedly had a big ship built here, but then couldn't sail it because of Sagami Bay 's shallowness. Zaimokuza during the Kamakura period was a busy port of call for the commerce of lumber, and through it passed much of the material for the construction of Kamakura's famous temples and shrines. This is in fact the origin of its name: Zaimoku means lumber, and za was the guild of timber merchants and craftsmen of
21-602: The kami Hachiman 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 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
28-450: 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
35-566: The name is usually used to indicate just its half west of the Namerigawa river, while the eastern half is called Zaimokuza Beach ( 材木座海岸 ) . This is the reason why, although the beach gives its name to only the west part of the beachside area, traces of the name Yuigahama can be found also in Zaimokuza (for example in Moto Hachiman 's official name, Yui Wakamiya). Minamoto no Sanetomo , planning
42-669: The shrine was repaired by Minamoto no Yoshiie ." It is likely that this area was then called "Tsurugaoka". On the 12th day of the 10th month of 1180 Minamoto no Yoritomo , 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
49-583: Was changed into Yui Wakamiya. Moto Hachiman is National Historic Site. Zaimokuza Beach Zaimokuza ( 材木座 ) is an area within the Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref., in Japan that runs along the sea from Cape Iijima near Kotsubo harbor to the estuary of the Namerigawa . The relation between the beach's name and that of its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is in fact the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape,
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