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The Kamakura side of Inamuragasaki

Inamuragasaki (稲村ケ崎) is a cape at the western end of Yuigahama Beach in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Now crossed by a road (see photo), it used to be impassable and one of the natural defenses that made Kamakura an impregnable natural fortress. Nitta Yoshisada made it famous bypassing it to enter Kamakura during his successful invasion of 1333 which brought the Kamakura shogunate to an end. The name seems to stem from it shape, similar to a mound of rice at harvest's time. Inamuragasaki's west side faces Shichirigahama Beach and the island of Enoshima. At its foot, on the Kamakura side, there is a park, the ...

Nitta Yoshisada's invasion

Kamakura is surrounded on three sides by steep hills, making an attack via land very difficult. Nitta first tried to enter through the Gokurakuji Pass and the Kewaizaka Pass, but concentrated Hōjō forces stopped him[1][2]. Judging it impossible to enter by land, Nitta decided to try by sea bypassing Inamuragasaki[3]. Once on Shichirigahama beach, on the outer side of the cape, Nitta must have taken advantage of a low tide to enter Kamakura and capture it. According to the Taiheiki, however, he threw his sword into the surf and prayed to Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, who parted the waters for him. Bypassing the cape on foot would be impossible today even at an extraordinarily low tide but, according to the Azuma Kagami in the 12th century low tides exposed its entire profile. The book says that, on September 1181, shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo went to Inamuragasaki because of an archery contest that was going to take place on the beach[4]. Since there is no beach there now, we must assume the bay there was shallower back then.

The stele at Inamuragasaki says[5]:

666 years ago on May 21, 1333 Nitta Yoshisada, judging an invasion on land to be difficult, decided to try to bypass this cape. This is the place where, according to tradition, he threw his golden sword into the water praying the god of the sea to withdraw them and let him pass. (Erected in 1917)

Notes

  1. ^ Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008: 54-56)
  2. ^ For more details, see the article Kamakura's Seven Entrances
  3. ^ Kamiya vol. 2 (2008:75-76)
  4. ^ Mutsu (1995:134)
  5. ^ Original Japanese text available here

References

  • Mutsu, Iso (1995/06). Kamakura. Fact and Legend. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0804819688. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Kamiya, Michinori (2008). Fukaku Aruku - Kamakura Shiseki Sansaku Vol. 1 & 2 (in Japanese). Kamakura: Kamakura Shunshūsha. ISBN 4774003409. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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