Location: Kamakura City, Kanagawa Pref.   Population: 173,058 (as of March 1995)   Area: 39.6 sq km (15.3 sq mi)   Annual visitors for sight seeing: 20,387,000 (1994)   History:  The first military government in Japan was located in Kamakura from 1192 to 1333.   National Treasures in the city:   o Shari-den in Enkakuji Temple had originally been a building at a different temple, and was reconstructed in the Enkakuji premises in the late 16th century.   o The Great Buddha, an bronze image of Buddha Amida to which Kotokuin Temple is dedicated. Made in the 13th century. Height 11.3 m (37.1 ft).

 

Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, is where the first military regime of Japan was formed, replacing the previous reign by the imperial court and aristocracy. This regime, called Kamakura Bakufu, was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-99) in 1192. Yoritomo moved Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, a leading Shinto shrine in the area, into the center of the city and modeled the city after Kyoto, comparing the shrine to the Imperial Palace in the center of Kyoto. The road called "Wakamiya Ooji" which runs directly from the shrine to the coast was built during this early period of the city's construction and is still the city's main street today.  

In the 18th century, Kamakura had already become a popular tourist spot. The city was fairly close to Edo (present-day Tokyo), which was already a big city at that time, and many citizens of Edo visited Kamakura to worship at the temples and shrines or to visit the historic sites.  
  

Kamakura City today has the quiet, civilized atmosphere of an ancient city. The city is scattered with many temples and shrines, among which are to be found temples built by men of power in the 13th century when the city flourished as the political center of the nation. Many temples and shrines are also famous for their seasonal flowers, the best-known of which are the cherry blossoms of Kenchoji Temple, narcissi and ume (Japanese apricot) flowers of Zuisenji Temple, and hydrangeas in Meigetsuin Temple. Another of the major attractions of Kamakura is the bronze Great Buddha of Kotokuin Temple, which is a National Treasure. This huge statue standing 11.3 meters (37.1 feet) high, made also in the 13th century, sits in the open air and is regarded as a symbol of Kamakura.  

Photos: (Top) Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine; (middle) the Great Buddha of Kotokuin Temple. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)  

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