Assumed resting place of Minamoto no Yoritomo – founder and 1st Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate
Genji clan leader Minamoto no Yoritomo raised an army in 1180 in Izu province and in 1185 he succeeded in defeating his rival Heike clan (also called Heishi or Taira), which was a major Japanese clan of samurai. He went on to defeat the Oshu-Fujiwara clan in 1189. He then became shogun = supreme general – generalissimo) and established the foundations of the samurai system of government in Japan based in Kamakura in 1192.
Minamoto no Yoritomo chose Kamakura as his base, specifically because it was a natural fortress – it had the sea on one side and was protected by hills on the other side. His government was in fact a military government.
This came at the same time when the whole society was undergoing a cultural change – admiration of the gentlemen and the scholar now switched to admiration for loyalty and honor among warriors. These ideas of courage, duty and self-sacrifice were contained in Bushido – samurai code of chivalry – the code of the warrior. This way of thinking is deeply rooted in the Japanese psychology and it influences the Japanese society until today.
The supremacy of the samurai lasted until the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed in 1867 when the last shogun Keiki (1837-1913) abdicated. Minamoto no Yoritomo thus laid the foundations for 675 years of samurai rule. Then the Meiji Restoration introduced a new, modern form of government.
This place is caled the Hokkedo site as in the times of Yoritomo´s life there used to be the Hokkedo Buddha Hall, where Yoritomo used to worship. Hokkedo – Lotus Sutra Hall – was constructed in 1189 as Yoritomo´s personal temple in Yoritomo´s time. It became his funerary hall in 1199. Now it is a place of his grave.
500 members of Miura clan gathered here on 7th August 1247 and committed seppuku mass suicide after the Miura battle against Hójo clan, known as Miura Rebellion. Following their suicide the ground was dyed in red and black with their blood. This meant the annihilation of the Miura clan.
Every year on 13th of April there is a festival held at the tomb of Minamoto no Yoritomo as part of Kamakura Matsuri Week.
I go downstairs from the resting place of Minamoto no Yoritomo and then a short distance further there are steps again. I walk up and there is this interesting yagura:
Yagura are caves dug as tombs in and around Kamakura during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods from the middle of the 13th century to the middle of the 15th century. Most of the yagura are graves of samurai and rarely priests or artisans are buried in them. There are at least 1,500 of them and some estimates state their number to as many as 5,000.
Yagura of the Miura clan in the photo enshrines the souls of the Miura clan members who committed harakiri in neighbouring Hokke-dó in 1247.
Ever since Minamoto no Yoritomo times the members of the Miura clan were faithful supporters of the shogunate. They contributed significantly to the defeat of the Taira clan. They had always held high positions in bakufu government.
Then there are steps again, this time leading to a platform where there are three yagura aligned next to each other. But because the platform is narrow I was not able to capture them within one shot. These, however, are the graves of prominent Kamakura period (1185-1333) personalities associated with the Satsuma and Choshu domains and so here they are in two photos:
Court noble – kuge – Oe no Hiromoto (1148-1225) assisted Minamoto no Yoritomo to create the base of the Kamakura Shogunate and then held high positions in bakufu. He was the father of samurai Móri Suemitsu.
Samurai Móri Suemitsu (1202-1247) was the 4th son of Oe no Hiromoto and he became the founder of the Choshu Móri samurai clan. He died together with the Miura at the Hokkedó in 1247.
Samurai Shimazu Tadahisa – died in 1227, he was Minamoto no Yoritomo´s illegitimate son. He was the founder of the Satsuma Shimazu samurai clan associated with Minamoto no Yoritomo. Present day look of his yagura dates back to 1779 when his descendant samurai Shimazu Shigehide (1745-1833), feudal lord who was the 25th head of the Shimazu clan, had it redecorated. He reputedly also had the pagoda, which is currently at Minamoto no Yoritomo grave, erected.
Excavations near these yaguras confirmed also the remains of Hojo Yoshitoki (1163-1224).
I would say, here are the beginnings of the Kamakura Shogunate and the end of its founding and first Shogun and his fellow samurai. I am the one and only visitor here, at these gravesites at this moment. A bit secluded place on a little hill. Solitude. This why it is a good place and time to meditate in peace. I am also thinking about other monuments where I have seen turtles as divine animals symbolizing longevity.