90116-0005 - Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

A view on the stairs and the Jogu Romon (上宮楼門, upper shrine gate) at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu (鶴岡八幡宮) in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. The shrine was founded in 1063 (康平/Kohei 6).

The big gingko tree on the left was designated a natural monument by Kanagawa Prefecuture in 1955 (Showa 30). The 1,000 year old tree was uprooted and irreparably damaged on March 10, 2010 (Heisei 22), but the base of the severed tree sprouted new leaves.

Tsuruoka Hachimangu was a temple for both Buddhist and Shinto worship and featured Buddhist buildings like pagodas, but these were removed by 1870 (Meiji 3).