Kamakura
Kamakura (鎌倉 Kamakura, ja), officially Kamakura City (鎌倉市 Kamakura-shi), is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu.
Kamakura was Japan's de facto capital when it was the seat of the Kamakura shogunate during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. It was the first military government in Japan's history. After the downfall of the shogunate, Kamakura saw a temporary decline. However, during the Edo period, it regained popularity as a tourist destination among the townspeople of Edo.
Nichiren in Kamakura
Kamakura is known among Buddhists for having been the cradle of Nichiren Buddhism during the 13th century. Founder Nichiren was not a native; he was born in Awa Province, in today's Chiba Prefecture. But he went to Kamakura because the city was the political centre of the country at the time.[1] Nichiren settled down in a straw hut in the Matsubagayatsu (literally "pine needle valley")[2] district, where three temples (Ankokuron-ji, Myōhō–ji, and Chōshō-ji), have been fighting for centuries for the honour of being the true heir of the master.[1] During his turbulent life Nichiren came and went, but Kamakura always remained at the heart of his religious activities. It is here that, when he was about to be executed by the Hōjō Regent for being a troublemaker, he was allegedly saved by a miracle; it is also in Kamakura that he wrote his famous Risshō Ankoku Ron (立正安国論), or "Treatise on Peace and Righteousness", and that legend says he was rescued and fed by monkeys. Kamakura is also where he preached.[1]
Notes
Further reading
Kamakura, Wikipedia
