Yagura: Ashikaga Family Graves
There are three arched caves along the hillside behind Kashodo Hall. Known as yagura, these caves were dug into the cliffs for use as tombs. They are distinctive to the Kamakura area and filled with stone monuments.
In traditional Japanese graves, the deceased’s remains are buried in a vertical shaft. In contrast, the pit inside a yagura is shallower and runs horizontally along the floor of the cave. Each yagura accommodates multiple urns of ashes. The monuments stand on top of the grave, serving as tombstones.
It is believed that yagura tombs originated in Kamakura because of the lack of flat land in the city. The mountains and hills surrounding Kamakura are tuffaceous sandstone, a soft rock, making it easy to hollow out spaces for burial.
From its founding in 1334, Hokokuji Temple was closely linked to the influential Ashikaga family. Thanks to the efforts of a loyal retainer, Uesugi Shigekane (d. 1375), the temple was dedicated to the spirit of Ashikaga Ietoki (d. 1284), who died in a political struggle. Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358), Ietoki’s grandson, became shogun just four years after Hokokuji Temple was founded, establishing the Ashikaga shogunate (1338–1573). A branch of the family served as rulers of Japan, and several prominent members of the Ashikaga family, including Ietoki himself, are believed to be buried in the yagura.
In autumn, the foliage of the Japanese maple trees in the area surrounding the yagura makes an impressive scene.
