Enjoying Japan’s History

Whilst visiting Japan we decided that in the time available to us one of the best ways we could learn about the history of Japan was to take an organised tour of historical sites.  The tour we chose was over 8 days staying in the major cities. It proved to be a great introduction to Japan focussing on the fascinating history in contrast to today’s modern Japan.

Arrival at Tokyo

When we arrived at New Tokyo International Airport (Narita) we were met by an English speaking assistant at the exit from customs who helped us to the airport limousine bus for our 2 hour journey to our downtown Tokyo hotel the Keio Plaza Intercontinental which would be our base for the next 3 nights. Shitamachi ("downtown") is the old town of Tokyo

Vibrant Tokyo

Early next morning we were collected to experience the diversity Tokyo has to offer including the Tokyo Tower Observatory, a traditional tea ceremony, the Imperial Palace Plaza, and Sensoji (also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple). 

The temple is located in Asakusa, a central part of the Shitamachi and was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple. Legend says that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River although they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. As a result Sensoji was built there for the goddess of Kannon.

We approached the temple through probably one of the most popular sights of traditional Tokyo, the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) the outer gate of the Sensoji.  We then walked to the temple's main gate, the Hozomon along the Nakamise, which is a shopping street with a history of several centuries.  Here we could buy typical Japanese souvenirs such as yukata, folding fans and various traditional local snacks from the Asakusa area. Beyond the Hozomon we saw the temple's main building and a five storied pagoda and nearby we found the Asakusa shrine, which was built in 1649 by Tokugawa Iemitsu. Our afternoon was a little more relaxed as we took a boat trip up the Sumida River before returning to our hotel.

Coastal Kamakura

Our third day was to be a busy walking day as we travelled by train to Kamakura, a coastal town in Kanagawa prefecture, less than one hour south of Tokyo.   Kamakura became the political centre of Japan, when Minamoto Yoritomo chose the city as the seat of his new military government in 1192 for over a century.  The Kamakura government continued to rule Japan, first under the Minamoto shogun and then under the Hojo regents.  After the decline of the Kamakura government in the 14th century and the establishment of its successor, the Muromachi or Ashikaga government in Kyoto, Kamakura remained the political centre of Eastern Japan for some time before finally losing its position to other cities.

Today, Kamakura is a very popular tourist destination and is occasionally called the Kyoto of Eastern Japan it offers numerous temples, shrines and other historical monuments.  On our morning tour we visited the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple to see the Great Buddha of Kamakura, a bronze statue of Amida Buddha cast in 1252. It stands 13.35 metres tall and is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan (later on our tour we would be seeing the largest located in the Todaiji Temple in Nara).   The statue was and originally located inside a large temple hall before the buildings were washed away by a tsunami tidal wave in the end of the 15th century.

Keeping up the pace we next visited the Hase Kannon Temple which was founded in 736 by priest Fusasaki Fujiwara and is a temple of the Jodo sect, which is most famous for its statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The statue shows Kannon with eleven heads, each representing a characteristic of the goddess.  The 9.18 metre tall, gilded wooden statue is regarded as the largest wooden sculpture in Japan, and can be viewed in the temple's main building. 

From the terrace next to the temple's main buildings we enjoyed a great view of Kamakura and in a small restaurant we were served a Japanese sweet mitarashi dango, small rice flower dumplings covered with a sticky sauce made of sugar and soya sauce. – yummy!

Our afternoon walk was fascinating and included Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Kamakura's most important shrine.Historically, Yoritomo Minamoto (1147-1199), the founder of the Kamakura Shogunate and the first Shogun in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), overwhelmingly defeated the rival clan of Taira in 1180 to become the military ruler of Japan and then set up his headquarters in Kamakura making it the de facto capital of the nation.  The first thing he did after his victory was to build a grand shrine dedicated to Hachiman and the samurai in general, the patron god of the Minamoto family and revered as the God of War, to demonstrate his supremacy as a new dictator.  

There was, and still exists near the Kamakura beach, a small shrine established in 1063 by his ancestor Minamoto Yoriyoshi.  As a replacement for this old shrine, he constructed a new one at the present site in 1180.  Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire in 1191.  He immediately began reconstruction and it is the origin of the present-day Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine where the sanctified spirits of the ancient Emperor Ojin who has been identified with Hachiman, Empress Jingu and Emperor Chuai are enshrined in the main buildings of the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

The treasure house, which is now a museum displaying the valuables owned by the shrine, and located next to the main buildings is a park with ponds.

Tired we arrived back at Tokyo Station to make your own way back to the hotel.

Continued in next months My Time To... Get Away