Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura. This popular shrine was built in 1063 and moved to its current location by Minamoto no Yoritomo when he established his palace in Kamakura. The palace itself, which was next to the shrine, is now an elementary school.
In my last article, we talked about the rise of the Genpei wars and the rise of the first true military government of Japan, the Shogunate, or Bafuku. This week, I want to fast forward and look at the end of the first Shogunate and talk about one of my favorite characters from ancient Japanese history. A man who was a legend in his own mind, whose madness was only surpassed by his ego. An Emperor so distasteful that his wife left him and, once power was fully restored to him in the Kenmu Restoration, his generals almost immediately turned and took it away again. Today on Wayfarer Daves, we talk about the Emperor Go-Daigo and the fall of Kamakura.
The tomb of Minamoto no Yoritomo. No remains have been found on this site, but it is regarded by most historians throughout history as the actual grave site. The grave was part of Hokkedo, Yoritomo’s personal temple, but the temple was abandoned some time after the fall of the Hojo Clan. Today, only this and a few other graves remain.
Go-Daigo, or the later Emperor Daigo ascended the throne in 1318, and almost immediately started plotting against the the Shogunate based in Kamakura. Over the previous one hundred years, the Minamoto clan faded and the Hojo clan usurped their power, serving as all powerful regents controlling the weak Minamoto descended Shoguns. Go-Daigo, meanwhile, decided that it was time for the Imperial Family to reclaim political power. By the early 1300s, the imperial court was split between Northern and Southern courts, with sitting emperors alternating between each court with the Hojo Regent’s blessing of course. Go-Daigo didn’t like this, so he named his own son as his successor, instead of his cousin from the northern court. This was the beginning of a tumultuous relationship and a cycle of the Emperor plotting against the Shogunate, having his plans betrayed, running away, raising an army, being defeated, rinse and repeat. By 1332, the Kamakura Bafuku tired of his games, deposed and exiled him, and replaced him with the Northern Court successor the Hojo had lined up. But that didn’t keep Go-Daigo down for long.
Miura clan tombs at the ruins of Hokkedo. The Miura were instrumental in helping Minamoto no Yoritomo establish his capital in Kamakura.
In 1333, Go-Daigo was once more on the march with an army, and the Ashikaga general sent by the Shogunate to stop him instead defected and joined him. Many samurai had been disenchanted with the shogunate after successfully defending Japan from two separate Mongol invasions while not getting paid or rewarded with any new lands or titles. And once the Ashikaga were on the Emperor’s side, other samurai followed suit. Finally, in early July, 1333, an Imperial army led by Nitta Yoshisada marched on Kamakura itself. In the ensuing siege, much of the city was destroyed and the Hojo were all but destroyed. And so, the Kamakura Bafuku, the first official military government of Japan fell, and the Imperial Court in Kyoto took full political control of Japan for the last time until the Meiji Restoration of 1867.
The site of Tosho-ji. As Kamakura burned and the battle was lost, the surviving Hojo clan leaders retreated to this point, set it all on fire, and then committed suicide. The temple was rebuilt following the battle, but gradually declined. By the Warring States period, Toshoj-i was abandoned. Today, it is a fenced off empty lot.
It was a short lived restoration, however, as Go-Daigo also failed to reward many of the samurai who supported him, instead giving most of the lands and titles taken from the Hojo to a handful of his closest allies or keeping them for himself. By 1335, the Ashikaga clan had enough. Ashikaga Takauji, who had turned on the Hojo and helped Go-Daigo reclaim the throne, defeated the last surviving Hojo heir in a second battle for Kamakura and set himself up as lord of the area. Nominally, he claimed to still be under Imperial rule, but he pretty much ignored the Emperor’s commands and started dividing his newly conquered lands among his followers – which was also against the Emperor’s orders. Go-Daigo sent Yoshisada back to Kamakura to deal with the usurper, but the Ashikaga forces were victorious and marched on to Kyoto. This sparked another civil war and by mid 1336, Ashikaga Takauji was firmly entrenched in Kyoto with an approved Northern Court Emperor on the throne while Go-Daigo attempted to rule from the Southern Court in near exile. This division between the two courts would last for several decades after Go-Daigo finally died in 1339.
Hokai-ji. This temple was ordered by Go-Daigo as a replacement for Tosho-ji as a final resting place for the dead Hojo clan. The temple was built by the Ashikaga Clan on the site of the Hojo residence in Kamakura.
In the end, Go-Daigo’s attempt to take full control of Japan lasted less than three years and ended with him and his sons pretty much exiled and powerless. On the other hand, his attempt also led to the complete destruction of the Hojo clan and the burning of Kamakura. Walking around Kamakura today, you can still find the echos and ghosts of these these events. The original temples that belonged to the Hojo clans were either never rebuilt or faded and fell apart in the ensuing decades, leaving empty fields and plots of land where they used to be, untouched or altered throughout the centuries. But the plots of land still exist. Minamoto no Yoritomo’s tomb, as well as the Tombs of the Hojo Regents still exist in the now abandoned and empty grounds of the temples they used to be part of. So if you ever visit Kamakura, you can see the big touristy sites, like Turugaoka Hachimangu Shrine -also linked to Yoritomo- or you can walk a short distance and find the historic remains of these old sites, lost to warfare and largely forgotten by time. I visited on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and, while the shrine was packed, only a handful of people could be bothered to see the other historically significant sites maybe ten minutes walk away. If you find yourself here, take a moment and visit these old sites. True, not much exists in these places anymore, but they are easy to see and have an incredible story to tell.
The ruins of Hokkedo, Minamoto no Yoritomo’s personal temple and site of his grave. The temple was moved several times before being abandoned all together.