由比若宮
由比若宮は鎌倉の八幡信仰の発祥の地で、鶴岡八幡宮参道の東側、海に近い材木座地区に位置しています。「元八幡」とも呼ばれるこの宮は、京の帝に武将として仕えた源頼義 (988–1075) が1063年に創建しました。1051年、頼義は侍の謀反を制圧するため東北地方へと送られます。 京を発つ際、頼義は源氏の守護神で祖先でもある八幡大神に祈祷を行いました。 12年におよぶ戦いを制した頼義は京へ帰る途中鎌倉に立ち寄り、そのとき八幡大神への感謝のしるしとして祀ったのが由比若宮です。その１世紀以上のち、頼義の子孫である源頼朝(1147–1199) が初めて武士の幕府を打ち立て鎌倉をその拠点としました。頼朝は町を広げ、その信仰の中心として鶴岡八幡宮を創建しました。こうして信仰の中心地は鶴岡八幡宮へと移りましたが、頼義が祀った簡素な神社は今も創建当時と同じ場所に残っています。
Yui Wakamiya Shrine
Yui Wakamiya is the birthplace of the Hachiman faith in Kamakura. It is located in Zaimokuza, a seaside neighborhood just east of the main approach to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. Also known as Moto Hachiman (Original Hachiman), it was established in 1063 by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (988–1075), a military commander serving the emperor in Kyoto, who was dispatched to northeastern Japan in 1051 to subdue rebellious samurai. Before his departure from Kyoto, Yoriyoshi prayed to Hachiman, the guardian deity of his clan, to whom the Minamoto traced their ancestry. Yoriyoshi emerged victorious after a 12-year campaign, and on his way back to Kyoto stopped in Kamakura to rest. During that sojourn, he founded Yui Wakamiya to express his gratitude to Hachiman. More than a century later, Yoriyoshi’s descendant Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) made Kamakura the seat of power for the first shogunate (warrior-led government). Yoritomo expanded the city and established a new Hachiman shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, as its spiritual center. That shrine succeeded Yoriyoshi’s more modest sanctuary, which still stands in its original location.
