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Information about Kamakura, Kanagawa

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Kamakura's location in Japan
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Crowds of visitors in Kamakura
(Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine)
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Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in


Kamakura (Japanese: 鎌倉市; -shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo (to which it is linked by the railway line to Yokosuka).

It is sometimes considered a former capital of Japan, as the seat of the Regent and Shogunate during the Kamakura Period. According to The Institute for Research on World-Systems Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 A.D., with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto by 1200 A.D.

As of December 1, 2005, the city has an estimated population of 171,241 and the density of 4,324.27 persons per km². The total area is 39.60 km².

Kamakura was designated as a city on November 3, 1939.

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Description

Surrounded by mountains on three sides and the open water of Sagami Bay on the fourth, Kamakura is a natural fortress. During the Heian period it was the chief city of the Kantō region, and from the 12th through 14th centuries the Minamoto shoguns ruled Japan from here under what is known as the Kamakura Shogunate.

Kamakura is now mainly known for its temples and shrines. Kōtoku-in, with the monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha, the most famous of these. A 15th Century tsunami destroyed the temple that once housed the Great Buddha, but the statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since. Magnificent Zen temples like Kencho-ji and Engaku-ji; the Tokei-ji (a nunnery that was a refuge for women who wanted to divorce their husbands); the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine; the Hase-dera, an ancient Kannon temple; the graves of Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako; and the Kamakura-gu where Prince Morinaga was executed, top the list of Kamakura's most famous historical and religious sites.

Kamakura has a beach which, in combination with the temples and the proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination. The city is well-provided with restaurants and other tourist-oriented amenities.

Kamakura is home to a microbrewery, the beer is available locally, bottled, and the range includes a pale ale, a pilsner style lager, and a stout. Information on these beers (in Japanese) can be found here [1] Kamakura is also noted for its "senbei", which are crisp rice cakes, grilled and sold fresh along the main shopping street. These are very popular with tourists, especially Japanese tourists.

Kamakura is also the terminal for the Enoshima Electric Railway, locally known as "Eno-den". This traditional narrow gauge railway runs to Fujisawa, to the west, part of the route takes it parallel to the seashore.

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View of Mt. Fuji from the beaches along Kamakura


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View overlooking Kamakura on a foggy day

Famous locations

External links





Kanagawa Prefecture
Cities
Atsugi | Ayase | Chigasaki | Ebina | Fujisawa | Hadano | Hiratsuka | Isehara | Kamakura | Kawasaki | Minamiashigara | Miura | Odawara | Sagamihara | Yamato | Yokohama (capital) | Yokosuka | Zama | Zushi
Districts
Aiko | Ashigarakami | Ashigarashimo | Koza | Miura | Naka
 See also: Towns and villages by district[ edit]
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A city (市 shi)
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Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県 Kanagawa-ken)

Capital Yokohama
Region Kantō
Island Honshū
Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa
Area 2,415.
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Tokyo Metropolis (東京都 Tōkyō-to)

Capital n/a
Region Kantō
Island Honshū
Governor Shintaro Ishihara
Area 2,187.
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Yokosuka (Japanese: 横須賀市; -shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan.

It is located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay in the Miura Peninsula, and the city stretches across the peninsula to Sagami Bay. Its neighbors are Yokohama, Miura, Hayama, and Zushi.
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A Regent, from the Latin regens "who reigns" , is a person selected to act as Head of state (ruling or not) because the ruler is a minor, not present or debilitated. Thus, the common use is for an acting deputy governor.
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Shōgun (将軍 shōgun
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Kamakura period (鎌倉時代 Kamakura-jidai
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Kyoto (京都市) listen   (help info )
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Water is a common chemical substance that is essential to all known forms of life.[1] In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor.
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Sagami Bay (相模湾, Sagami-wan), also known as the Sagami Gulf or Sagami Sea, lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, central Japan, with the Miura Peninsula to its east and the Izu Peninsula to its west.
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city is an urban settlement with a particularly important status which differentiates it from a town.

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Minamoto (源
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Kamakura shogunate (Japanese: 鎌倉幕府, Kamakura bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 (or 1192, when it was formally recognized) to 1333. It was based in Kamakura.
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the largest temple in the world (early 12th century)]]

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Amitābha (Sanskrit: अमिताभः, Amitābhaḥ; Tibetan: Ö-pa-me) is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism.
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buddha   (help info ) (Sanskrit: Awakened) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), and has experienced Nirvana.
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