Minamoto no Yoritomo and the Oshu Campaign

1. 01

   Tsurugaoka Hachimanguつるがおかはちまんぐう

   Kanagawa Kamakura

   DepartureThe tutelary shrine of the Kamakura warriors, where the army's prayers were offered before it marched north.

2. 02

   Utsunomiya Futaarayama Shrineうつのみやふたあらやまじんじゃ

   Tochigi Utsunomiya

   On the roadHe stopped in person on the way north and made a large endowment for success in the campaign.

3. 03

   Shirakawa Barrierしらかわのせき

   Fukushima Shirakawa

   The frontierThe army entered Mutsu by three roads at once; Yoritomo himself crossed at the old barrier of Shirakawa.

4. 04

   Atsukashiyama Defence Lineあつかしやまぼうるい

   Fukushima Kunimi

   The battleThree kilometres of earthworks thrown up by the Fujiwara. The fight here decided the campaign; the line survives as a national historic site.

5. 05

   Chuson-jiちゅうそんじ

   Iwate Hiraizumi

   The endHiraizumi fell and the Northern Fujiwara with it. Yoritomo took the temple form home with him; Kamakura's Yofuku-ji was built on what he saw here.

None of the shrines described here takes part in this project, and none has been approached. They are written about because the roads they stand on are worth knowing. Coordinates are approximate and unverified — enough to show the shape of a route, not enough to navigate by.