Tomb of Minamoto no Yoritomo
The tomb of Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝の墓) is a monument in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, located some hundred meters north of the site where the palace called Ōkura Bakufu, seat of Minamoto no Yoritomo's government, once stood. Although there is no evidence his remains are actually there, it is commonly assumed to be the resting place of Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder and first shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate. The cenotaph consists of a 186 cm gorintō surrounded by a stone tamagaki, and was built during the Edo period (1603–1868), far after the shōgun's death in 1199. In the course of history, the site's prestige has attracted other structures, so that now it is occupied by the Site of the Hokke-dō,, Shirahata Shrine , and the black stone stele commemorating the Hokke-dō and the mass suicide of the Miura clan. A couple of hundred meters further to the east lie the yagura of the Miura clan, the twin tombs of Oe no Hiromoto and of his son Mōri Suemitsu, and the grave of Yoritomo's illegitimate son Shimazu Tadahisa. The grave of Yoritomo and the ruins of the Hokke-dō are national Historic Sites.
Yoritomo's grave today
The stele on the spot where the Hokke-dō used to stand.
Shirahata Shrine
The area around the tomb of Yoritomo in an Edo period drawing
Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate and of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan. He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (shikken) after his death.
Portrait by Fujiwara no Takanobu, 1179
Gate of Seigan-ji in Nagoya, the site of the former family villa and his birthplace
Minamoto no Yoritomo scroll painting, late 14th century
An ukiyo-e by Yoshitoshi depicting Yoritomo and his retainers releasing cranes to mourn for the war dead in the Mutsu and Dewa Conquest.