Kamakura
Wakayama · 鎌倉Browse Wakayama’s cultural heritage from the Kamakura period (1185 – 1333). Filter by type and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
An early Kamakura nirvana painting at Jōkyō-ji in Arida-gawa, Wakayama, breaking convention with a great canopy and dragon king, from the Myōe-linked Saishō-ji.
This Kamakura scroll at Gobo Jakujo-in on Mount Koya shows the Immovable Wisdom King in flame with three attendant boys, by tradition ascribed to the monk Gangyo.
Painted by Kakue in 1315, this Kokoku-ji portrait honours Hotto Kokushi, the Zen monk who brought Kinzanji miso and the shakuhachi flute from Song China to Japan.
A 6,285-volume Korean Goryeo Buddhist canon at Koyasan, dedicated in 1599 by Ishida Mitsunari for his late mother and kept in an octagonal revolving bookcase.
An Important Cultural Property tachi by master swordsmith Sanenaga, one of the "Three Masters of Osafune," housed at the historic Nokami Hachimangu Shrine in Wakayama's Kimino Town.
Discover the Zushi-iri Kurikara Ryūken at Ryūkō-in on Mount Kōya in Wakayama Prefecture — an Important Cultural Property comprising a sculpted Kurikara dragon sword housed in its own dedicated reliquary cabinet. Tradition holds that this sacred sword was used by Kōbō Daishi Kūkai during his renowned rain-praying ritual at Shinsen-en in 824. Explore the symbolism of the Kurikara dragon, the artistry of the reliquary, the legends linking Kūkai with dragon kings, viewing information at the Kōyasan Reihōkan museum, and nearby attractions across this sacred mountain.
A Kamakura tachi by Kunitoki of the Higo Enju school, given to Kishu Toshogu by the shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune in 1721 and held at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.
A late Kamakura tachi by Kageyori of Bizen, its tang signed and dated to 1289 and unaltered, owned by Kishu Toshogu and held at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.
A Kamakura tachi signed Sanenaga of the Osafune line in Bizen, dedicated to Kishu Toshogu by Tokugawa Tsunanori and held at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.
An Important Cultural Property at Kishū Tōshōgū: an 80-centimeter Kamakura tachi attributed to Sanenaga of Bizen, with original tang and Tokugawa-crested mounting.
The tachi signed Ohara Sanemori at Kishu Toshogu continues the Hoki line after Yasutsuna, a carved 13th-century blade and Important Cultural Property.
The tachi signed Masatsune at Kumano Hayatama Taisha is a Ko-Bizen work, an Important Cultural Property separate from the shrine's National Treasures.
The tachi signed Mitsutada at Kishu Toshogu is by the founder of the Osafune school, bearing a paulownia crest rather than the Tokugawa hollyhock, of Kamakura date.
The tachi signed Moriie at Kishu Toshogu, a finest work of this Bizen smith, descended through the Kii Tokugawa and is an Important Cultural Property.
An Important Cultural Property at Kishū Tōshōgū: a slender 72-centimeter tachi by the late-Kamakura Kyoto master Rai Kunitoshi, with a calm straight temper line.
A Kamakura short sword signed Kunimitsu, held by Kongobu-ji on Koyasan and designated in 1913. By tradition its maker is Shintogo Kunimitsu, founder of Soshu work.
A Kamakura short sword signed Rai Kunimitsu at Hirohachiman Shrine in Hirogawa, town of the rice-sheaf tsunami legend. A Kyoto Rai-school work designated in 1950.
An iron kettle at Kumano Hongu Taisha cast with the date 1198, used in the yudate rite. It is among Japan's oldest dated kettles, from the early Kamakura era.
A bronze five-pronged vajra bell at Shochi-in on Koyasan, made in Tang China and designated in 1928. An esoteric Buddhist implement, paired with a vajra in ritual.
A Kamakura bronze bell owned by Kongobuji on Mount Koya, with a cast inscription dating it to 1280. A securely dated example shown by rotation at the Reihokan.