At the end of the twelfth century, an exiled warrior set up his headquarters in a small bay ringed by hills and founded Japan's first military government. The samurai ruled the country for almost seven hundred years, and it all began here. Twelve stops between the bronze Buddha that lost its temple in a storm, the beach of battles, the cave where money is washed, the shrine of the murderous nephew, the tomb of the first shogun, the bamboo grove, the cave of the Hojo suicides, the Zen temples born of the fear of the Mongols and the temple that granted women divorce. Approximate audio duration: 21 minutes.
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Kamakura: la ciudad donde los samuráis le quitaron el poder al emperador
A fines del siglo doce, un guerrero exiliado instaló su cuartel en una pequeña bahía rodeada de colinas y fundó el primer gobierno militar de Japón. Los samuráis gobernaron el país durante casi setecientos años, y todo empezó acá. Doce paradas entre el Buda de bronce que perdió su templo en una tormenta, la playa de las batallas, la cueva donde se lava el dinero, el santuario del sobrino asesino, la tumba del primer shogun, el bosque de bambú, la cueva del suicidio de los Hojo, los templos zen que nacieron del miedo a los mongoles y el templo que daba el divorcio a las mujeres. Duración aproximada de audio: 21 minutos.
Tour stops
12 stops · ~21 min of audio · 12.6 km on foot (~3 h 10 min walking) · about 3 h 45 min in total
Stop in front of it and look up. More than eleven metres of bronze, some hundred and twenty tonnes, seated in meditation with hands in its lap. It is the Great Buddha of Kamakura.
It represents Amida, the Buddha of infinite light, who promises rebirth in his paradise to anyone who calls on him with faith. It was a religion meant for everyone, not only monks and nobles. Also for warriors who killed for a living.
Casting began in 1252, at a time when Kamakura was the political capital of Japan. Look at the surface: you can see the joins between the pieces, cast separately and joined on site.
…
2
The Goddess Who Came Floating In
Climb up to the terrace of Hase-dera and look at the sea. That is Sagami Bay. Kamakura is enclosed between this coast and a ring of wooded hills. That is why it was chosen as a military capital: it was a natural fortress.
In the main hall stands a gilded wooden statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, about nine metres tall. It is one of the largest wooden statues in Japan.
According to legend, in the eighth century a monk carved two statues from the same camphor trunk. One stayed in Nara. The other was thrown into the sea with a prayer: that it would arrive wherever it could save people. Yea…
3
The Beach of Bones
You are at Yuigahama. Today it is Kamakura's beach: surfers, families, summer stalls. Walk to the water's edge and look east and west: the rocky headlands that close off the bay.
By land, Kamakura could only be entered through a few narrow passes cut into the hills. By sea, through this beach. This shore was the gateway and the weak point of the capital.
In 1333 a rebel army arrived to put an end to the Kamakura government. According to legend, its general, Nitta Yoshisada, threw his sword into the sea as an offering at the Inamuragasaki headland to the west. The tide went out and his troops…
4
Washing the Money
To get into Zeniarai Benten you must pass through a tunnel cut into the rock. On the other side appears a small hidden valley, full of torii and incense smoke.
At the back is a cave with a spring. Do what everyone does: take a bamboo basket, put your coins or notes in it and wash them with the spring water using the ladle.
The belief is that money washed here multiplies. Naturally, you then have to spend it, so that fortune keeps circulating.
According to legend, the shrine was founded because of a dream of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun. In 1185, on the day of the snake in the year…
5
A Path for an Heir
Step up onto the Dankazura, the raised stone walkway running down the middle of the avenue, between cherry trees and azaleas. Look ahead: at the far end is Kamakura's main shrine.
This walkway was built on the orders of Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1182. His wife, Hojo Masako, was pregnant, and the path was an offering for a safe birth. A boy was born: Yoriie, the future second shogun.
Notice a detail: the walkway narrows as it approaches the shrine. It is a perspective trick. From the entrance, the path looks longer and the shrine more distant and majestic.
Yoritomo chose Kamakura because his f…
6
Shizuka's Dance and the Murderous Nephew
You are at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, the shrine dedicated to Hachiman, god of war and protector of the Minamoto clan. Before the great staircase there is an open wooden stage: the Maiden.
On that spot, in 1186, Shizuka Gozen danced, a famous dancer. She was the lover of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Yoritomo's younger brother, the brilliant general who had won the war and whom Yoritomo was now hunting out of fear of his popularity.
Forced to dance before the shogun, Shizuka sang of her love for Yoshitsune. Yoritomo was furious. It was his wife, Masako, who defended her. Yoshitsune was eventually corn…
7
The Tomb of the First Shogun
Climb the stone steps on the hillside. At the top is a small moss-covered stone pagoda surrounded by trees. It is the tomb of Minamoto no Yoritomo. It is surprisingly modest.
In 1192 the emperor granted Yoritomo the title of sei-i taishogun: great general who subdues the barbarians. It was an old military title. He turned it into the name of a system of government.
From then until 1867, with interruptions, Japan had two centres: a sacred emperor without power and a shogun with power but no sacredness. That division lasted almost seven hundred years.
Yoritomo died in 1199, aged fifty-one, sh…
8
Green Tea Among the Bamboo
Walk into the bamboo grove of Hokoku-ji. Some two thousand towering stems sway and creak in the wind. The light filters through green. If you like, the little teahouse will serve you matcha with a view of the grove.
The temple was founded in 1334 and was linked to the Ashikaga family, the clan that founded the second shogunate after the fall of Kamakura.
Behind the temple, in the rock, you will see some carved hollows: they are yagura, tombs typical of Kamakura. As there was little flat land between the hills, the elite dead were buried in caves cut into the stone.
This peaceful place also …
9
The Cave of the End
You are in a quiet clearing among trees where there is hardly ever anyone. It is the site of the old Tosho-ji temple, the Hojo family temple. Following the path towards the hillside, you will find a cave with wooden grave tablets: the Harakiri yagura.
In July 1333 Nitta Yoshisada's army entered Kamakura via the beach. The city burned. Hojo Takatoki, the last regent, took refuge in this temple with his family and his vassals.
When there was no way out, they took their own lives. According to the chronicles, more than eight hundred and seventy people died here. The temple was set on fire. With…
10
The First Zen Monastery
Walk under the huge wooden gate of Kencho-ji. It is the first great Zen training monastery in Japan, founded in 1253 by the regent Hojo Tokiyori.
To lead it, Tokiyori invited a Chinese master, Lanxi Daolong. China was then under Mongol attack, and many Chinese monks took refuge in Japan. They brought Zen, but also architecture, calligraphy and tea.
Notice the juniper trees in the garden in front of the main hall. According to tradition, they grew from seeds brought by the Chinese master himself. They are more than seven hundred years old.
Zen suited the samurai. It did not demand the study …
11
The Divorce Temple
Climb the steps of Tokei-ji, a small temple full of flowers and moss. It looks like a place of retreat. For centuries it was, above all, a refuge.
It was founded in 1285 on the initiative of Kakusan-ni, widow of the regent Hojo Tokimune. For almost six hundred years it was a convent of nuns.
In the Edo period, divorce in Japan was almost exclusively the husband's right. All he had to do was write a short letter, three and a half lines long, to repudiate his wife. She, on the other hand, could not leave on her own account.
But there was a way out. A woman who managed to enter this temple and…
12
A Temple for the Dead of Both Sides
Climb up to the great gate of Engaku-ji, among the cedars. It is the last temple of the walk and, for many, the most beautiful in Kamakura.
In 1274 and 1281 the Mongols of Kublai Khan, who already ruled China and Korea, invaded Japan through the island of Kyushu. The second fleet was one of the largest in history up to that time.
Both times the samurai held out, and storms destroyed much of the enemy fleets. The Japanese called them kamikaze: divine winds.
At Japan's helm was the regent Hojo Tokimune, barely over twenty when the first Mongol demands arrived. He rejected them and had Kublai'…
How long does the "Kamakura: the City Where the Samurai Took Power From the Emperor" audio tour take?
It has about 21 minutes of audio across 12 stops and a 12.6 km walking route (~3 h 10 min on foot). Plan roughly 3 h 45 min in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "The Buddha Left Without a Roof" (coordinates 35.3169, 139.5357). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Korean. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open Kamakura and pick "Kamakura: the City Where the Samurai Took Power From the Emperor". No account required to start.
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No wifi needed · Spanish, English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Korean
