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Siege of Kamakura (1333)

1330s in Japan1333 in AsiaConflicts in 1333Genkō WarSieges involving Japan

The 1333 siege of Kamakura was a battle of the Genkō War, and marked the end of the power of the Hōjō clan, which had dominated the regency of the Kamakura shogunate for over a century. Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo and led by Nitta Yoshisada entered the city from multiple directions and destroyed it; in the end, the Hōjō leaders retreated to Tōshō-ji, the Hōjō family temple, where they committed suicide with the rest of the clan.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Siege of Kamakura (1333) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Siege of Kamakura (1333)
Prefectural Road 311, Kamakura

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N 35.3158 ° E 139.5502 °
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県道311号線

Prefectural Road 311
248-0012 Kamakura
Japan
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Hatakeyama Shigeyasu's grave
Hatakeyama Shigeyasu's grave

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.

Kamakura's Seven Entrances
Kamakura's Seven Entrances

The city of Kamakura, Kanagawa in Japan, is closed off on three sides by very steep hills and on the fourth by the sea: before the construction of several modern tunnels and roads, the so-called Seven Entrances (Nana-guchi), or Seven Passes (七切り通し, Nana-kiridoshi) (all artificial) were its main links to the rest of the world. The city was therefore a natural fortress and, according to the Azuma Kagami, it was chosen by Minamoto no Yoritomo as his base specifically for this reason. The name itself seems to have been modeled on that of Kyoto's Seven Entrances (京都七口)—sometimes translated as the seven "mouths"—which first appears in the literature of the intermediate Muromachi period (around the year 1450). Together with the other "numbered" names like "Kamakura's Ten Wells" and "Kamakura's Ten Bridges", the modern "Seven Entrances" is an Edo period invention probably concocted to stimulate tourism. The Azuma Kagami calls them simply -zaka: Kobukurozaka, Daibutsuzaka, Gokurakuzaka, etc. Besides these seven, there were always other mountain roads that connected Kamakura with, for example, Kotsubo and Shichirigahama. There is one, for example, that connects Kaizō-ji in Ōgigayatsu with Kita-Kamakura Station. The Seven Entrances were simply the most convenient and important. While economically vital because they allowed traffic to and from the outside world, the Seven Passes had also great military value, and as such they were fortified in various ways, for example narrowing them further until a horse could barely pass through, and obstructing the view of incomers. The roads were also modified adding artificial cliffs and forts from which archers could hit enemies below.