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神奈川県
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Tosho-ji Ruins
神奈川県
Site where Hojo Takatoki and 870 retainers took their lives on May 22, 1333, ending the Kamakura shogunate
Founded
1247
Type
Historic Site
Visited
Want to go
Access
About 15 min walk from JR Kamakura Station East Exit; 5 min from Hokai-ji, crossing Nameri River via Toshoji Bridge
3-11 Komachi, Kamakura, Kanagawa
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Info
Historic Site
Founded 1247
779 years
Buddhist Sect
Rinzai Zen (former)
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Overview
Ruins of a Rinzai Zen temple in Komachi 3-chome, Kamakura. Founded c. 1247 by the 5th regent Hojo Tokiyori as the Hojo clan's family temple. On May 22, 1333, after Nitta Yoshisada's army breached Inamuragasaki, the last regent Hojo Takatoki and over 870 Hojo kin and retainers took refuge here and committed mass suicide as the halls burned around them — ending the 150-year Kamakura shogunate founde…
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Origins
Tosho-ji was a Rinzai Zen temple founded c. 1247 by the 5th regent Hojo Tokiyori, traditionally said to be opened by the disciple Taiko Gyoyu (or another disciple of Eisai) to console the souls of the Miura clan destroyed in the Hoji War and to serve as the Hojo family temple. Patronized by successi…
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記
Related Articles
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記
He Split the Sea to Attack Kamakura: Yoshisada and the Miracle of Inamuragasaki
In 1333 Nitta Yoshisada led a flanking assault through the sea at Inamuragasaki, toppling the Kamakura Shogunate. The legend that 'the sea parted' was born here. The story explained simply.
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記
Descendants of the Warrior Who Refused Yoritomo: Who Was Nitta Yoshishige, Founder of the Nitta Clan?
Nitta Yoshishige, Yoshisada's ancestor, refused to join Yoritomo's uprising against the Taira. That decision shaped the Nitta clan's fate for 150 years — until his descendant Yoshisada destroyed the very shogunate Yoritomo founded.
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記
The Warrior Who Became a Vengeful Spirit: Nitta Yoshioki and the Tragedy of Yaguchi
Nitta Yoshioki continued his father Yoshisada's fight for the Southern Court until 1358, when he was lured onto a boat at Yaguchi ford (modern Tokyo), the vessel was sunk, and he drowned. His vengeful ghost became the subject of Edo-era Kabuki.
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人
Related Figures
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Hojo Takatoki
14th and Final Regent
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On May 22, 1333, after Nitta Yoshisada's assault on Kamakura, the last regent Hojo Takatoki retreated here and took his own life with over 870 kin and retainers. The Taiheiki records that Takatoki composed a death poem, watched his retainers commit seppuku, then cut his own belly and fell into the flames. The 150-year Kamakura shogunate ended on this ground.
H
Hojo Tokiyori
Fifth Regent
Age 20 at founding
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Tradition holds that the 5th regent Hojo Tokiyori founded Tosho-ji around 1247 to console the Miura clan he had destroyed in the Hoji War and to serve as the Hojo family temple. Opened by Taiko Gyoyu (or another Eisai disciple), it became the Tokuso line's family temple, patronized by every successive regent.
Ashikaga Takauji
First Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate
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Having toppled the Hojo at Tosho-ji, Ashikaga Takauji founded the adjacent Hokai-ji in 1335 to console their souls — combining the political severance of Hojo Tokuso power with the warrior's duty of memorial offering.
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