Yagura (やぐら・窟・岩倉・矢倉・矢蔵・谷倉・屋倉, etc.) are artificial caves used during the Middle Ages in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, as tombs and cenotaphs.[1][2]
It is likely that they were used only as tombs in the beginning, and were later used as cenotaphs.[2]
The dead are mostly from the samurai class, but the names of priests and artisans have also been found.[3]
A yagura is usually just a hole dug into the side of a hill and begins with a short corridor called sendō (羨道) leading to the crypt, called genshitsu (玄室).[1] In many cases the mouth of the sendō was sealed by a wooden door (senmon (羨門)), the remains of which can sometimes still be seen.
These tombs are extremely numerous in the hills surrounding Kamakura,
and estimates of their number range from 1,500 to over 5,000. The total
number will remain unknown, as many have been destroyed and others may
not yet have been found.[4]
Yagura can be found either isolated, as in the case of the Harakiri Yagura, or in clusters of almost 200 caves.[5]
Groups of yagura are labeled with the suffix -gun (群 group).
The most conveniently seen yagura for most tourists are those at Jufuku-ji, near Kamakura station. Its cemetery has many yagura, including those with the cenotaphs of Hōjō Masako and Minamoto no Sanetomo.[4]
True yagura can be found also in the Miura Peninsula, in the Izu Peninsula, and as far away as Awa Province (Chiba).[1]
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