Wakae Island

Tenshōzan Renge-in Kōmyō-ji (天照山蓮華院光明寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo sect in Zaimokuza, near Kamakura, Japan, the only major one in the city to be close to the sea. Kōmyō-ji is number one among the Kantō Jūhachi Danrin (関東十八檀林), a group of 18 Jōdo temples established during the Edo period by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and dedicated to both the training of priests and scholarly research. It is also the sect's head temple for the Kantō region. In spite of the fact it is a Jōdo sect temple, Kōmyō-ji has several of the typical features of a Zen temple, for example a sanmon (main gate), a pond and a karesansui (rock garden). Kōmyō-ji has always enjoyed the patronage of Japan's powerful and is the only Buddhist temple in Kamakura to have had the privilege of being a daimyō's funeral temple. It was chosen for that role by the Naitō clan, feudal lords from today's Miyazaki Prefecture whose tombs are part of the temple's compound.The temple, besides the usual Buddhist cemetery, maintains a special crypt for the ashes of house pets and other animals, and twice a year holds in the Main Hall ceremonies in their memory. The crypt was created and is maintained by a group of veterinarian volunteers.The temple holds occasional music concerts in its main hall, concerts that are announced in its Wweb site. For 3500 yen, visitors who make a reservation can try at Kōmyō-ji the vegetarian food the resident priests themselves eat. Entrance is free, with the exception of the sanmon, which can be visited only telephoning the temple, explaining the motives for the planned visit, making a reservation and paying a small fee.

Zaimokuza (材木座) is an area within the Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref., in Japan that runs along the sea from Cape Iijima near Kotsubo harbor to the estuary of the Namerigawa. The relation between the beach's name and that of its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is in fact the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, the name is usually used to indicate just its half west of the Namerigawa river, while the eastern half is called Zaimokuza Beach (材木座海岸). This is the reason why, although the beach gives its name to only the west part of the beachside area, traces of the name Yuigahama can be found also in Zaimokuza (for example in Moto Hachiman's official name, Yui Wakamiya). Minamoto no Sanetomo, planning a voyage to China, allegedly had a big ship built here, but then couldn't sail it because of Sagami Bay's shallowness. Zaimokuza during the Kamakura period was a busy port of call for the commerce of lumber, and through it passed much of the material for the construction of Kamakura's famous temples and shrines. This is in fact the origin of its name: Zaimoku means lumber, and za was the guild of timber merchants and craftsmen of the area who served businessmen and temples. When the tide is low, at the west end of the beach are still visible the remains of Wakae Island, the oldest artificial island in the country and the harbor that served both Zaimokuza and Kamakura.

Yuigahama (由比ヶ浜海岸) is a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is legally the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from Shichirigahama, to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, which separates it from Kotsubo and the Miura Peninsula, the name is customarily used to indicate the portion west of the Namerigawa river, while the eastern half is called Zaimokuza Beach (材木座海岸). This is the reason why, although the beach gives its name to only the west part of the beachside community, traces of the name Yuigahama can be found also in Zaimokuza (for example in Moto Hachiman's official name, Yui Wakamiya). The center of Yuigahama came legally into being between 1964 and 1965 and was named after the beach. Today's Yuigahama was until then divided between Zaimokuza, Ōmachi, and Hase. There are different theories about the origin of the name. According to one it derives from an earlier one, Yuigo (由比郷). According to another it derives from the presence of a cooperative (yui (結)). The name Yui itself has been written in various ways, among them 由井 and 湯井.

The Nameri River (滑川, Nameri-gawa) is a river that goes from the Asaina Pass in northern Kamakura, Kanagawa to the beach in Yuigahama, for a total length of about 8 km. Although Yuigahama is in fact the name of the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki to Zaimokuza's Iijima cape, the name is usually used just for its half west of the Namerigawa river's estuary, while the eastern half is called Zaimokuza Beach (材木座海岸). The name comes from the way it flows, kind of "licking" ("nameru" in Japanese) the stones at its bottom.Only during the summer, during the bathing season, the river's estuary is crossed by a wooden bridge (in the photo). Although very short, the river is called by locals with six different names according to the neighborhood it crosses. From the Asaina Pass to Jōmyō-ji it's about a meter wide and is called Kurumigawa (胡桃川). After the temple's gate it takes the name Namerigawa, becomes wider and follows the course of the Kanazawa Road. Near the Omidōbashi Bridge it changes name again becoming the Zazengawa (座禅川) in honor of Buddhist monk Mongaku, who used to live nearby. From Tōshōjibashi to Komachi it's called Ebisudōgawa (夷堂川). In the last few hundred meters of his course, from Ichi no Torii (Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's first torii gate) to the sea it assumes two names, first Sumiurigawa (墨売川) and finally Enmagawa (閻魔川). The name Namerigawa however is today the only one truly necessaryThe stele on the bridge in Komachi, next to Hongaku-ji's gate, says. This is one of Kamakura's Ten Bridges (鎌倉十橋). It is said that once here stood the Ebisudō (夷堂). This river is now called Namerigawa, but it used to have several names that changed according to the place. In its upper course it used to be called Kurumigawa, near Jomyo-ji's gate it was called Namerigawa, near the remains of Mongaku's residence it was called Zazengawa, here it was called Ebisudōgawa, near Enmyō-ji it was called Sumiurigawa and near the remains of the Enmadō it was called Enmadōgawa. Erected in March 1932 by the Kamakurachō Seinendan

Ishiizan Chōshō-ji (石井山長勝寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren Shū in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It's one of a group of three built near the site in Matsubagayatsu (Valley of Pine Needles (松葉ヶ谷) where Nichiren, founder of the Buddhist sect that bears his name, is supposed to have had his hut. The first part of its name is derived from the founder's last name (Ishii), the second is an alternative reading of the characters for Nagakatsu, the founder's first name.

Moto Hachiman (元八幡) is a small but very old and historically important Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Pref., Japan.

Hatakeyama Rokurō Shigeyasu (畠山六郎重保) was a Kamakura period warrior who fell victim of political intrigue in 1205. The grave under a tabu no ki tree near the Yuigahama end of Wakamiya Ōji Avenue in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan and next to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's first torii (Ichi no Torii) is traditionally supposed to be his. It is an Important Cultural Property and a famous example of hōkyōintō (a type of pagoda). Famous for the quality of its manufacture, the hōkyōintō' is 3.45 m tall and is made of andesite.In spite of its prominence, next to nothing is known about the monument. On the base of the hōkyōintō is carved a date, the fourth year of the Meitoku era (1393), but its manufacture suggests it was built during the Muromachi period (1336–1573). Its upper portion, called sōrin, is very long, in the style prevalent at that time. Also, the relationship between the grave and Hatakeyama Shigeyasu is, the traditional attribution notwithstanding, unclear. The reasons for the attribution are probably that it lies within the former Hatakeyama estate, and that Shigeyasu is known to have been killed in battle by Hōjō soldiery in Yuigahama.Next to the hōkyōintō stands a black stele (on the left in the photo) erected in the 1920, which is however only indirectly related to the grave. Its text says: Hatakeyama Shigeyasu's residence Hatakeyama Shigeyasu was Hatakeyama Shigetada's eldest son. He had had a quarrel with Hiraga Tomomasa, who was Hōjō Tokimasa's son-in-law. Tomomasa hadn't forgotten the fact and so spoke to Tokimasa against both the Hatakeyama. Tokimasa himself hadn't forgotten how Shigetada had, following Minamoto no Yoritomo's will, tried to protect the shogun's son and heir Yoriie, and was looking for an excuse to kill them. Having received an order to that effect from shogun Sanetomo, he surrounded Shigeyasu's residence with his soldiers. Shigeyasu fought well, but in the end was killed. The day was June 22, 1205. and this is where the residence stood. The day after, Shigetada himself was tricked into going to Musashinokuni's (a region in the north eastern part of Kanagawa) Futamatagawa, where he was killed. Erected in March 1922 by the Kamakurachō Seinendan Because Shigeyasu suffered from asthma and was having an attack when he was killed in battle, the hōkyōintō is popularly known as Rokurō-sama and is supposed to have the power to cure colds and coughs.

Myōhōkekyōzan Ankokuron-ji (妙法華経山安国論寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren sect in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It is one of a group of three built near the site in Matsubagayatsu (Valley of Pine Needles (松葉ヶ谷) where Nichiren, founder of the Buddhist sect that bears his name, is supposed to have had his hut.

Ōmachi (大町, Big Town) is a locality (a machi or chō (町)) in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, defined as the part of town south of the Ebisubashi bridge on the Namerigawa. The part of town north of the same bridge is called Komachi (小町, Small Town).

Wadazuka Station (和田塚駅, Wadazuka-eki) is a commuter railway station on the Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden) located in the Yuigahama neighborhood of the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

Gionzan An’yō-in Chōraku-ji (祇園山安養院長楽寺) is a Jōdo shū Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Famous for its rhododendrons, it was named after its founder's (great historical figure Hōjō Masako) posthumous name. The main object of worship is Amida Nyorai, but it also enshrines Senju Kannon, Goddess of Mercy. An’yō-in is Number three of the 33 temples of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit.

Ōmachi Ōji (大町大路) is the name of a street in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, which begins at Geba Yotsukado and ends at the Nagoshi Pass. It takes its name from the district of Ōmachi, which it crosses. At the time of the shogunate it was the most important road that went from east to west. The entertainment and red-light district of the city used to be at the intersection between Komachi Ōji and Ōmachi Ōji. The branch of the street that from the intersection goes in the opposite direction is called Yuigahama Ōdori (Yuigahama Avenue). On it stand temples like An'yō-in and Ankokuron-ji.