Kamakura

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. It has an estimated population of about 172,900 people on a total area of 39.67 square kilometres, and it was designated a city on 3 November 1939. Kamakura was Japan's de facto capital from 1185 to 1333 as the seat of the Kamakura shogunate, founded by Minamoto no Yoritomo, which was the first military government in Japanese history. After the shogunate fell the town declined for a time, but in the Edo period it regained popularity as a destination for townspeople of Edo. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 destroyed many historical and cultural assets, yet Kamakura remains a major tourist attraction known for landmarks such as Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and the Great Buddha of Kamakura.