法華堂跡 Remains of the Hokke-dō

The Hokke-dō was Yoritomo's personal temple, which was destroyed, moved and rebuilt several times in the course of its history and which is no longer extant. On the site where it used to stand before it was demolished in 1872 there are now a shrine called Shirahata Shrine and a stone stele, or Sekihi, which reads:

The Hokke-dō originally enshrined Yoritomo's tutelary goddess [Shō-Kannon] but, after his death, was turned into his grave. When in June 1217 (Kempō 5, 5th month) Wada Yoshimori rebelled and set the Ōkura Bakufu on fire, this is where shōgun Sanetomo found refuge. Also, on August 7, 1247 (Hōji 1, 5th day of the 6th month), Miura Yasumura barricaded in here to resist the onslaught of Hōjō forces, but was defeated. He therefore gathered 500 members of his clan and committed with them mass suicide, dyeing the ground in red and black with their blood.

Erected in 1924 by the Kamakura Seinendan Young Adult Association.