Kamakura, Kanagawa Totally Explained

Everything about Kamakura Kanagawa totally explained

is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 A.D., with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto by 1200 A.D.
   As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 173,588 and a density of 4,380 persons per km². The total area is 39.60 km².
   Kamakura was designated as a city on November 3, 1939.
   Kamakura has a beach which, in combination with the temples and the proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination.
   Kamakura is also noted for its senbei, which are crisp rice cakes grilled and sold fresh along the main shopping street. These are very popular with tourists, especially Japanese tourists.

Geography

Surrounded to the north, east and west by mountains and to the south by the open water of Sagami Bay, Kamakura is a natural fortress. Again according to the Azuma Kagami, the first of the Kamakura shoguns, Minamoto no Yoritomo, chose it as a base partly because it was his ancestors' land, partly because of these physical characteristics>. During the Jomon period the sea level was higher than now and all the flat land in Kamakura up to Tsurugaoka Hachiman and, further north, up to Yokohama's Totsuka-ku and Sakae-ku was under water. The oldest book in Japan, the Kojiki was compiled in 721 by O no Yasumaro. The beginning of the Kamakura shogunate marked the rise of military (samurai) power and the suppression of the power of the emperor, who was compelled to preside without effective political or military power, until the Meiji Restoration over 650 years later.
The Hōjō Regency, a unique episode in Japanese history, however continued until Nitta Yoshisada defeated it in 1333.

The fall, renaissance and final decline of the city

A major change took place in the Kamakura Shogunate when the Hōjō, acting as regents for the shogun, usurped power. In accounts of that disastrous defeat, it's recorded that nearly 900 Hōjō samurai, including the last three Regents, committed suicide at their family temple, Tōshō-ji, whose ruins have been found in today's Ōmachi. Many regular citizens imitated the Hōjō, and an estimated total of over six thousand died on that day of their own hand. Some Buddhist temples were simply closed, like Zenkō-ji, to which the now-independent Meigetsu-in used to belong.
In 1890 the railroad, which until then had arrived just to Ofuna, reached Kamakura, bringing in tourists and new residents, and with them a new prosperity It was reported that the sea receded at an unprecedented velocity, and then it's wave rushed back towards the shore in a great wall of water over twenty feet high, drowning some and crushing others beneath an avalanche of water-born debris. The total death toll from earthquake, tsunami, and fire exceeded 2,000 victims. Large sections of the shore had simply slid into the sea; and the beach area near Kamakura was raised up about six-feet; or in other words, where there had only been a narrow stip of sand along the verge of the sea, a wide expanse of sand was fully exposed above the water-line.
Many temples founded centuries ago are nonetheless carefully re-created replicas; and it's for this reason that Kamakura has just one National Treasure (the Shariden at Engaku-ji).

The old city's six avenues

(that is, the part within the Seven Entrances, which excludes Kamakurayama, Kita-Kamakura, and Nishi Kamakura) still uses much of what was the city's road network at the time of the shogunate. to the Ōmachi and Nagoe districts.
Although important, it wasn't considered one of the Entrances because it connected two areas both fully within Kamakura. Yagura are caves dug on the side of hills during the Middle Ages to serve as tombs for high-ranking personalities and priests. The City Council consists of 28 members.

Sister cities

Kamakura has five sister cities. Three are domestic and two are overseas. The sisters within Japan are Hagi, Ashikaga and Ueda. Kamakura's international sisters are Nice in France and Dunhuang in the People's Republic of China.

Further Information

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