Gabi Greve
Gabi san
- 13 Oct 2004
- 19
- 0
This is a great link to the old capital of Kamakura.
The major temples and shrines are covered.
Kamakura is only about one hour south of Tokyo and easily readed on a Daytrip.
There is also a general, but very interesting introduction to various topics on this link, like
Introduction
History
Buddhism
Shintoism
Annual Observances
Who's Who in Kamakura
Kamakura Terminology
Check it out if you intend to visit Kamakura.
My Tip:
Zeni-arai Benten:
Wash your money to have it multiply!
Quote:
According to legend, the Shrine dates from the era of Yoritomo Minamoto {yoh-re-toh-moh me-nah-moh-toh} (1147-1199), the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate. One night after a series of battles, an old man appeared in his dream and said, "I am the god of Ugajin {woo-gah-gin}. There is a spring in the gorge located in the northwest direction of Kamakura. Go find it and worship Ugajin with the spring water. People may start to have faith in the god and peace will be restored." It was the day of the Serpent, the month of the Serpent in 1185, the year of Serpent on lunar calendar based on twelve zodiac signs. (See Kamakura Terminology for details.)
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/zeniarai.htm
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Here is the index of the LINK:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/
From the very detailed page about History you can read:
Minamoto Era
Roughly 900 years ago in the 12th century, the capital of Japan was Kyoto. Back at the time, there was a big civil war being waged across the country between the Minamoto {pronounced me-nah-moh-toh} and the Taira {tie-rah} military clans. The Minamoto was also called Genji {ghen-gee} and the Taira as Heike {hay-keh} with its different reading of Chinese characters. The civil war was like Japan's War of Roses, as Genji was represented by 'white' and Heike by 'red' as their symbol colors. The Minamoto clan was almost completely defeated in 1159, and all its family members were either killed or forced to take their own lives except for a few.
One of the few was Yoritomo {yoh-re-toh-moh} Minamoto (1147-1199), the most notable samurai warrior as the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate and the military dictator of Japan. He was the only legitimate child of the Minamotos, and was just 13 years old when his father was killed in 1160. Instead of killing him, the chieftain of the Taira clan banished him away from Kyoto to the countryside of the Izu {e-zoo} Peninsula, 90 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. Glorious days of the Taira continued. At age 30, Yoritomo married Masako Hojo {mah-sah-ko hoh-joe} (1157-1225), a daughter of a local warlord, and slowly but steadily gained momentum. There were still a number of samurai clans in eastern Japan who supported Yoritomo because of his pedigree.
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/history.htm
Enjoy your stay in Kamakura!
By the way, I lived there for almost 15 years.
Gabi san
Daruma San in Japan, Japanese Art and Culture (01)
The major temples and shrines are covered.
Kamakura is only about one hour south of Tokyo and easily readed on a Daytrip.
There is also a general, but very interesting introduction to various topics on this link, like
Introduction
History
Buddhism
Shintoism
Annual Observances
Who's Who in Kamakura
Kamakura Terminology
Check it out if you intend to visit Kamakura.
My Tip:
Zeni-arai Benten:
Wash your money to have it multiply!
Quote:
According to legend, the Shrine dates from the era of Yoritomo Minamoto {yoh-re-toh-moh me-nah-moh-toh} (1147-1199), the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate. One night after a series of battles, an old man appeared in his dream and said, "I am the god of Ugajin {woo-gah-gin}. There is a spring in the gorge located in the northwest direction of Kamakura. Go find it and worship Ugajin with the spring water. People may start to have faith in the god and peace will be restored." It was the day of the Serpent, the month of the Serpent in 1185, the year of Serpent on lunar calendar based on twelve zodiac signs. (See Kamakura Terminology for details.)
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/zeniarai.htm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Here is the index of the LINK:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/
From the very detailed page about History you can read:
Minamoto Era
Roughly 900 years ago in the 12th century, the capital of Japan was Kyoto. Back at the time, there was a big civil war being waged across the country between the Minamoto {pronounced me-nah-moh-toh} and the Taira {tie-rah} military clans. The Minamoto was also called Genji {ghen-gee} and the Taira as Heike {hay-keh} with its different reading of Chinese characters. The civil war was like Japan's War of Roses, as Genji was represented by 'white' and Heike by 'red' as their symbol colors. The Minamoto clan was almost completely defeated in 1159, and all its family members were either killed or forced to take their own lives except for a few.
One of the few was Yoritomo {yoh-re-toh-moh} Minamoto (1147-1199), the most notable samurai warrior as the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate and the military dictator of Japan. He was the only legitimate child of the Minamotos, and was just 13 years old when his father was killed in 1160. Instead of killing him, the chieftain of the Taira clan banished him away from Kyoto to the countryside of the Izu {e-zoo} Peninsula, 90 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. Glorious days of the Taira continued. At age 30, Yoritomo married Masako Hojo {mah-sah-ko hoh-joe} (1157-1225), a daughter of a local warlord, and slowly but steadily gained momentum. There were still a number of samurai clans in eastern Japan who supported Yoritomo because of his pedigree.
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/history.htm
Enjoy your stay in Kamakura!
By the way, I lived there for almost 15 years.
Gabi san
Daruma San in Japan, Japanese Art and Culture (01)