Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

The entrance path is a famous street named Wakamiya Oji street.
It stretches from Yuigahama beach to Tsurugaoka hachimangu, which goes through the center of Kamakura town.
The shogun, Samurai leader Yoritomo Minamoto, was inspired by the main street of Kyoto and led the people to build it by themselves.
On the way to Hachimangu, there are 3 guard frames, named “Torii”. From the second guard frame to Hachimangu, the walking path is raised from the street, and it is called “Dankazura”.
The third guard frame is located in front of the entrance of Hachimangu.
The width of Dankazura at the second guard frame is 4m and the one at the 4th guard frame is 3m.
The width dwindles toward the entrance of Hachimangu in order to make it look magnificent.
It is famous for the beautiful cherry blossom trees in the spring season and many people visit to see them at that time.

There are “Genpei “ponds there which consist of the 2 ponds splitted to left and right. Two ponds are connected by the “Taiko Bashi ” bridge. Genpei means Genji(Minamoto family) and Heike(Taira family). Their 2 families are the rival leaders of Samurais and enemies of each other who fought for supremacy. At last Genji won over Heike and became “Shogun” the general through the war.

There is a custom of cleansing hands and mouth when we visit shrine. It is called Chohzu. Chozuya which is located on entrance path. It is the place where we do chohzu. There is a tab with dippers in the middle of the place.

Manner of Chohzu

1. Calm down your mind.
   Keeping presence of your mind is important.   When your mind becomes calm down, make a light bow.
2. fill the dipper full of water 
   Cleanse the left hand with the right hand holding the dipper Don’t use up whole water because you also use the water later.
3. Transfer the dipper to the left hand and clense the right hand.
4. Transfer the dipper to the right hand and pour water into the left hand and cleanse the mouth.   There still must be residual water in the dipper.
5. Hold the dipper with the both hand and raise the head of the dipper and cleanse the handle of the dipper.   Take it back the dipper and make a light bow.
   

Maiden is a stage where the festivals and events of the Shirine are held. Many wedding ceremonies are also held at Maiden. If you are lucky, you can see the traditional Japanese Shinto style wedding ceremony here.
Maiden Maiden is a stage where the festivals and events of the Shirine are held. Many wedding ceremonies are also held at Maiden. If you are lucky, you can see the traditional Japanese Shinto-style wedding ceremony here.

“Hongu” is the main shrine in Hachimangu where you can offer prayers.

The manners of offering prayers are as follows:

1. Make a light bow.
2. Throw money into an Offertory box.
3. Bow deeply twice.
4. Clap your hands twice.
5. Offer your prayers.
6. Bow once again.
   
   There is a souvenir shop near Honden where you can find a variety of good luck charms.

Maruyama Inarisha is located next to Hongu. It is an old shrine that predates the construction of Hachimangu. This small and charming shrine features many red gate frames called “Torii” that you can pass through. Capture a nice picture in front of the red Torii to create a lasting memory.

The most impotant and popular festival named  ” Reitai-sai” is held in mid of September in Hachimangu.

In the festival continuing since 1187,  ”Mikoshi” , the portable shrine with a lot of people in the costume of the priest in old times, parades on the entrance path.

Yabusame

Yabusame is also one of the unmissable popular rituals of Reitai-sai. It has been continuing for around 800 years. In the event, shooters hit the 3 targets with an arrow while rushing at a terrific speed from the top of a horse. It is exciting to see this event.