Wow! Look at how well-protected the city of KamaKura is, Shoki. With mountains on three sides and Sagami Bay on the fourth, the city is a natural fortress. It's practically impenetrable! Not for deities and demons, though. An army of Oni could easily invade...okay, okay. You can stop waving your sword in my face. I promise to be good.

Now if everyone will me , I'll show you the sites. I know this place like the back of my hand. In the good old days before Shoki quelled me and my family, we used to raise havoc here among the fishing villages — Oni love fish. We even managed to scare a few humans away! You can wipe those worried looks off your faces. I promise to behave. Besides, I have no choice but to behave with Shoki right behind me, threatening to poke me in the eye with his sword.

See? We have already arrived at Wakaejima, our nation’s oldest artificial island harbour off the coast of Zaimokuza. The coast was a major entrance for merchant ships coming to Kamakura from the other parts of Japan. The waters were shallow for a considerable distance out to sea, which made loading cargo a huge headache, not to mention the dangers of navigation. These problems were solved during the Kamakura era by the engineering feat of the medieval Buddhist priest Ouamidabutsu, who, with financial aid from Hojo Yasutoki, constructed the island harbour out of piles of rocks. The island’s rocky shore is still accessible during low tide, which is the only time it’s visible.

Kamakura is known for its sandy beaches and scenic capes. Cape Inamuragasaki is considered one of Kanagawa Prefecture’s most beautiful spots, and it’s also famous for the warrior Nitta Yoshisada's legendary march into Kamakura city in 1333 AD to overthrow the Hojo government. Clever as an Oni, he took advantage of the low tides. According to the Taiheiki, one of Japan's historic epics, Nitta tossed his sword into the surf and prayed to the Shinto Sun Goddess Amaterasu, who parted the waters for him and his troops. Another Kamakura era engineering achievement allowed a small army to effectively block Nitta and defend the Gokurakuji slope — one of the city's seven Kiridoshi, or steep slopes – which was cut at the order of Ninsho, founder of Gokurakuji Temple. The historic administration also created paths in the mountains for exchange with the outer world, but made them difficult to navigate to prevent invasions.

Let’s forget history for a moment, though, and take in the scenery. I can see why you humans flock to Cape Inamuragasaki. Just look at the exquisite view of Sagami Bay from here And see that mountain across the bay? That's Mt. Fuji! And over there is Enoshima Island. When Irish author and folklorist Lafcadio Hearn visited Enoshima in the mid 1890s, he wrote that he was surprised to see fishermen diving easily to collect sazae (turban shells), which were once the local specialty. My family used to scare the humans away and gorge ourselves on these delicious shellfish. It's a sad reflection of the changing times that they no longer exist in this area. What’s that Shoki? No, the Oni did NOT eat them all. Besides, there are plenty more reasons for visiting the island.

A popular surfing, windsurfing and sailing centre in your modern times, Enoshima has a lively history dating back over 1000 years. Benten (or Benzaiten), the only female of the seven Japanese gods of luck (shichi-fukujin), is the goddess of the island. She is the Buddhist patron of the arts, wealth and femininity. According to legend, a sea dragon used to ravage the island and devour small children, until Benten married him and put her foot down. What a wimp! Ugly too, I hear — like Shoki. We Oni may be scared of him, but we would NEVER bow down to our wives. We might bow down to the goddess, though: Benten's a babe! And most of her shrines are near the sea, which means lots of fish to eat. She also plays a mean biwa. Too bad she's always riding around on her husband's back. Her first temple was built on the island by Yoritomo Minamoto (1147-1199), founder of the Kamakura Shogunate. Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu declared the temple the family's official prayer hall, which proved to be unfortunate for Enoshima in the Meiji Restoration when all Buddhist structures on the island were destroyed.

Before we return to the mainland, let’s take a hike up the southern face of Katase hill to Ryukoji, another legendary Buddhist temple. Stop groaning! Hiking is good for your health. Just look at Shoki’s fat belly. He needs the exercise, even if you don’t. By the way, did I mention Kamakura is famous for its temples? Ryukoji was founded on the execution ground of Nichiren (1222-1282), founder of the Nichiren Sect of Buddhism. Nichiren was a particularly outspoken priest. Not only did he criticize other Buddhist sects for not being true to the origins of the faith, he also spoke out against the government — not a wise thing to do in twelfth century Japan. Legend has it that he was sentenced to death on September 12, 1271 and when the executioner raised his sword, lighting flashed down from the heavens and a deafening clap of thunder shook the earth. The executioner was so terrified, he could not complete his task. Believing Nichiren was responsible for the miracle, the government officials decided it was in their best interest to be merciful and had him exiled to an island off the coast of Niigata Prefecture instead.

And now to the city of Kamakura itself! It’s small as far as cities go, but the legacy of its history rescues it from obscurity. Nestled in forested hills overlooking Sagami Bay, this great city was once the capital of the powerful Kamakura Shogunate, a feudal military dictatorship governed by shoguns from 1185 to 1333. Before this, the emperors and their regents held civil rule in Japan. After defeating the Taira clan in the Battle of Dannoura, Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power in 1185 and became the country’s de facto ruler. He was given the title of shogun in 1192 and established a system of government called the bakufu (which literally means tent-government).

The most impressive site is the Great (Daibutsu in Japanese) Buddha, a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha at Kotukuin, a temple of the Pure Land sect. The records aren’t clear on when it was built, but the story goes that Yoritomo attended the unveiling in 1195 of the Buddha at Todaiji Temple in Nara. He died four years later, before fulfilling his dream to erect a similar monument in Kamakura. His Court lady Inada decided to make his wish come true and with the help of his wife, raised funds throughout the land. The city was now in the power of the stingy Hojos, who gave the ladies no assistance because they were with the Zen sect and Kotokuin was a Jodo sect temple. Hmmm…judging by the way Shoki hordes my fish, I think he must walk the path of Zen. Oh put that infernal sword away! I’m moving on already. And don’t worry. I promise not to paint graffiti on the Buddha, or scare innocent bystanders out of their wits and their sushi snacks.

South of Kotokuin is Hasedera Temple of the Jodo sect. A giant pine tree that looks like its been bonsaid guards the gate. The temple houses Japan's tallest wooden gilt statue of the eleven-headed Kannon, Goddess of Mercy, which stand 9.3 meter (30 ft) tall. Folklore says that in 721 AD , the monk Tokudo carved two images from a giant camphor tree. He enshrined the first image in a temple in Nara Prefecture and cast the second one into the sea with prayers that it would land where it would save people. Fifteen years later, it washed up on the shores of Nagai Beach near Kamakura, glowing brightly, and the locals constructed a shrine in its honour.

On the lower level of the temple, across Hojoike pond, is Bentendo Hall, which houses a small eight-armed statue of Benzaiten. Kobo Daishi is said to have been inspired to carve it while in seclusion. On the other side of the hall is Benten-kutsu Cave where the rock walls are chisled with depictions of Benten and her sixteen children. (She is also called Benzaiten, and Sarasvati in Sanskrit). The temple grounds have a large collection of the much smaller Jizo Bosatsu: the patron saint of travellers and departed children — which they may need if Benten ever loses control of her ugly dragon husband. Ther temple also has a great bell And there’s a teahouse nearby where you can get such delicious Japanese sweets as mitarashi dango, small rice flour dumplings covered with a sweet, sticky sugar and soy sauce.

Shoki says there are far too many shrines and temples in Kamakura for us to visit in one day, and that I should take you for a walk down Wakamiya Oji, the city's main street, which runs all the way from the Hachimangu shrine to the sea. The street was built as a road to the shrine, which was founded by Minamoto Yoritomo at the beginning of the Kamakura. Hmmm…all roads lead to shrines in Kamakura, and since there’s simply no way of avoiding the subject, I may as well tell you about Hachimangu. It was embraced as the guardian deity of samurai warriors and also played a central role in Japanese Buddhism during the Kamakura era. In fact, joint Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies were held here until the separation of the two practices the Meiji era. Wakamiya Oji is also of archaeological interest. An excavation uncovered residences of warriors and houses of their men, as well as houses and warehouses of craftsmen and merchants.

Another interesting site is the Wadazuka Mound, built in the Kofun (Mound) period (300 to 700 AD). Some of these mounds are comparable in scale to the Egyptian pyramids. The larger ones were built for members of the imperial and influential families. The largest is the Nintoku Mausoleum (fifth century) in Osaka, measuring 486 meters in length. Though a cluster of mounds once existed in Kamakura, Watazuka is the only remaining mounded earth tomb.

And although Shoki has cauntioned me not to say another word about the subject, the important discovery of temples and shrines dating to the Nara period (about 710 to 784 AD) suggests that Kamakura was more than a simple fishing village back then. One of the oldest Nara temples in the city is Sugimotodera, which was built by an esteemed priest named Gyoki of the Tendai Buddhist sect, apparently by instruction of Empress Komyo to enshrine the eleven-headed Kannon. Large-scale local government offices of this period were also found around Yuigahama that extended as far as the Imakoji area. I should know. My family was happy here until you humans built big government structures and your officials started nosing about the quiet fishing communities. First you taxed the fish and our supply dwindled, then you asked for Shoki's help and he put an end to our fun.

Speaking of which, Shoki wants me wrap up this tour. He's muttering something under his breath that sounds supiciously like: "Enough about temples and shrines already!" Sounds like a plan. I don’t know about you, but I’m famished. Now that you've seen what a great place Kamakura is to live, it's time to sample the local cuisine at The Flying Pig Teahouse. I’ll go ahead and check on the sashimi supplies. Whazzat Shoki? He says he doesn't want me out of his sight in case I eat all the fish before you arrive...I probably would, too.

Sources

A Brief history of Kamakura

Kamakura - Wikitravel

Kamakura - Wikipedia

Minamoto no Yoritomo - Wikipedia

Hasedera - Bentendo Hall and Bentenkatsu Cave

Hasedera Temple - legend of Kannon

Hasedera Temple

Lovely photos Kamakura

Lovely photos Kamakura

City-builder: Jia Li Shen Chi