荏柄天神 Egara Tenjin

This historical stone marker is found beside the second Torii to the entrance of Egara Tenjin Shrine In Nikaido, where it reads:

In the old Wanasho dictionary is the name, "Karaso".  It doesn't exist now, but it seems to have been the old name of this shrine.  The reading of the Kanji characters 柄草 is irregular and it is guessed that Kara later became Egara.  In the past, the row of pine trees in front of the shrine was called Baba (horse stables).  

Sugawara no Michizane is celebrated at this shrine, but the date it was built is unknown.  When Hōjō Yoritomo began his Shogunate, he built this shrine in this position to protect the city from evil spirits that came from the northeast. Successive Shōguns have protected this shrine ever since.  

In 1548, Hōjō Ujiyasu set up a toll gate in front of the shrine, collected a tax, and paid for the shrine's restoration.  In the Edo era, it was seen as a good example of how to use surplus wood every time there was reconstruction at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

Erected in March of 1929 by the Kamakura Seinendan Young Adult Association.