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Fall of the Kamakura Shogunate — Genko Incident and Nitta Yoshisada Historic Sites Guide
In 1333, Nitta Yoshisada attacked Kamakura in support of Emperor Go-Daigo's Genko Incident, ending 150 years of Hojo rule. A guide to the Kamakura sites connected to the shogunate's fall.
武
Author
Taketoki
| Samurai History
Contents
MOKUJI
一
The Road to Collapse
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二
Historic Sites in Kamakura Linked to the Shogunate's Fall
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三
Pilgrimage Route: Sites of the Shogunate's End
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四
Frequently Asked Questions
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Minamoto no Yoritomo — founder of the shogunate that ended in 1333
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
On May 22, 1333, Nitta Yoshisada’s forces broke into Kamakura and the last Hojo regent, Takatoki, committed suicide along with several hundred retainers. The Kamakura shogunate — which had governed eastern Japan for roughly 150 years since Minamoto no Yoritomo — was gone. Behind this dramatic end lay the relentless anti-shogunate campaign of Emperor Go-Daigo, and the defection of key Hojo allies at the critical moment. Kamakura’s major temple and shrine precincts still hold the memory of those final days.
The Road to Collapse
Emperor Go-Daigo’s Genko Incident
Emperor Go-Daigo sought to restore direct imperial rule after generations of regents and military governments had reduced the emperor to a figurehead. In 1331, his plot was exposed; he fled to Kasagi-yama but was captured and exiled to the Oki Islands. This was the Genko Incident (Genko no Hen).
Kencho-ji — chief Zen temple patronized by the Hojo, near the site of the shogunate's fall
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
In early 1333, Go-Daigo escaped from Oki, rallied support in Hoki Province (modern Tottori), and the Hojo-ordered punitive force — led by Ashikaga Takauji — switched sides. The fall of the shogunate’s Rokuhara deputies in Kyoto followed immediately, stripping the Hojo of their western bulwark.
Nitta Yoshisada’s Attack on Kamakura (1333)
Simultaneously in the east, Nitta Yoshisada — a warrior of Kozuke Province (modern Gunma) — raised his banner on May 8, 1333, at Ikushina Shrine. Within two weeks he had gathered a large force and surrounded Kamakura. The city’s natural defenses — mountains on three sides, guarded passes at Rokura, Gokurakuji, and Kesho-zaka — initially held off the attackers.
The breakthrough came at Inamuragasaki, the rocky coastal promontory on Kamakura’s western edge. According to tradition, Yoshisada cast a golden sword into the sea and the tide miraculously receded, allowing his troops to wade along the shoreline into the city. The probable explanation is a natural low tide exposing the rocky shore.
The Last Day of the Shogunate
On May 22, 1333, Yoshisada’s forces entered Kamakura. The last regent, Hojo Takatoki, withdrew to Tosho-ji temple with his retainers and committed suicide. Hundreds followed — estimates range from 800 to 900 deaths. The approximately 150-year Hojo regency was over.
Historic Sites in Kamakura Linked to the Shogunate’s Fall
Engaku-ji — founded by Hojo Tokimune after the Mongol invasions
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA
Site
Connection
Highlights
Kencho-ji
Chief Zen temple patronized by the Hojo
Grand monastic compound
Engaku-ji
Founded by Hojo Tokimune; Hojo memorial temple
Great gate, relic hall
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
Chief shrine of the shogunate
Main hall, grand staircase
Hokai-ji
Built after the fall to pray for the Hojo dead
Main hall, hagi garden
Yoritomo’s Grave
Tomb of the shogunate’s founder
Hokyointo stupa
Kencho-ji and Engaku-ji — The Hojo’s Temples
Kencho-ji (founded 1253) was the premier Zen temple of the Kamakura period, established by Hojo Tokiyori with the Chinese master Rankei Doryu as its founder. It stood at the apex of the Kamakura Five Mountains and received Hojo patronage throughout the shogunate’s existence. Some Hojo retainers reportedly took refuge here during the final assault.
Engaku-ji (founded 1282) was built by Hojo Tokimune to pray for the souls of warriors fallen in the Mongol invasions. It became closely associated with the Hojo clan’s religious life, and several of the related sub-temples preserve Hojo memorial tablets.
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu — The Shogunate’s Chief Shrine
Hokai-ji — founded on imperial order after the shogunate's fall to pray for the Hojo dead
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu was the symbolic heart of warrior government in Kamakura from Yoritomo’s time onward. In 1219, the third shogun, Minamoto no Sanetomo, was assassinated here by his nephew Kugyo — the most violent event in the shogunate’s political history and the act that brought the Minamoto male line to an end, opening the way for Hojo regency. The shrine survived the shogunate’s fall and remains Kamakura’s most visited site.
Hokai-ji — Memorial Temple for the Hojo Dead
Hokai-ji was founded in 1334, one year after the shogunate’s fall, on the orders of Emperor Go-Daigo, with Ashikaga Takauji as sponsor. It was built on the site of the Hojo family residence to pray for the spirits of the fallen clan. The temple is also one of the eight sites on the Kamakura-Enoshima Shichifukujin pilgrimage, enshrining Bishamonten.
Pilgrimage Route: Sites of the Shogunate’s End
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu — chief shrine of the shogunate and site of Sanetomo's assassination
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Order
Site
Getting There
Focus
1
Engaku-ji
Kita-Kamakura Station, immediate
Hojo memorial Zen temple
2
Kencho-ji
10 min walk
Chief Hojo-patronized temple
3
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
20 min walk
Shogunate’s chief shrine
4
Hokai-ji
5 min walk
Memorial temple for the Hojo dead
5
Yoritomo’s Grave
15 min walk
Founder’s tomb — beginning and end
Walking this route in order traces the arc from the shogunate’s founding to its violent end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Tosho-ji, where Hojo Takatoki committed suicide?
The temple no longer stands. It occupied a site in present-day Komachi 3-chome in Kamakura, now marked only by a bridge called Toshoji-bashi and a sign. Nearby is a rock cave known as “Harakiri Yagura” (suicide cave), traditionally identified as where the Hojo retainers died — still accessible to visitors today, about 15 minutes on foot from Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.
What is the Inamuragasaki Miracle?
Blocked by Kamakura’s coastal cliffs, Nitta Yoshisada reportedly cast a golden sword into the sea at Inamuragasaki and the tide receded, allowing his troops to advance along the exposed shore. Historians believe a natural low tide exposed the rocky coastline. The headland is now a small park overlooking Enoshima, popular at sunset.
What happened to Nitta Yoshisada after taking Kamakura?
Yoshisada served in Emperor Go-Daigo’s Kenmu Restoration but clashed with Ashikaga Takauji. He fought on the Southern Court side throughout the early Nanbokucho wars and was killed in battle in Echizen Province (modern Fukui) in 1338, aged 39 — just five years after his famous victory.
Last updated: May 20, 2026
── 了 ──
武
Author
Taketoki（たけとき）
Samurai History
Toku editorial team — samurai history. Insists on primary sources and castle-layout diagrams, walking battlefields from Yoritomo's Izu exile sites to the late-Edo battlegrounds.
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Visit Related Places
History truly comes alive when you visit in person. Choose your next destination from the related sites and pilgrimage courses below.
1. Kenchoji
Japan's first full-scale Zen training monastery, founded 1253 by Tokiyori — head of Kamakura's Five Mountains
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2. Engakuji
Founded by Hojo Tokimune to mourn Mongol War dead — Kamakura's 2nd Zen temple with a National Treasure Shariden
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3. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
Kamakura's guardian shrine since Yoritomo's 1180 relocation — site of Sanetomo's assassination by the great ginkgo
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4. Hokaiji
Built by Takauji on the site where 870 Hojo warriors fell — the 'Temple of Bush Clover'
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5. Tomb of Minamoto no Yoritomo
Burial site of Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura shogunate — Edo-era five-ring tower, National Historic Site
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