Jun 4, 2012 - 1 min read

The Naito Family Grave in Kamakura

Unique and Neglected Cemetery of Powerful Feudal Lord

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

The statues and gravestones are all mixed together here.

The Naito Family grave is nestled into a residential area.

I have never seen gravestone that look like these do.

The contrast of black on green is quite beautiful.

Within the walls here are 40 Hokyo-into, 1Gorinto, 13 other monuments, 4 Buddha statues, 118 garden lanterns, 17 washbasins and 9 Jizo statues.

Those stone structures were erected during the 250-year period from 1634 through 1888.

Most of Hokyo-into are as tall as 3 meters.

This cemetery is just a few minutes away from Komyo-ji Temple.

This statue has lost his head, but somebody has kindly placed it down below him.

The cemetery sits in a 2,000-square-meter plot.

It is hard to know who these represent, since there is not much information available.

The site is designated as a Historic Spot by the City of Kamakura

Attached to Komyo-ji Temple, this grave took me by surprise. It looks so different than any grave I have ever seen here in Japan. Although it is closed to the public, it is very easy to see in over the low fence surrounding it. A sign posted in front explains that the temple was the family temple for the Naitos, a feudal lord in Miyazaki Prefecture in the latter half of the Edo Period (1603-1868). They were powerful and whenever a family member died, elaborate funerals were held. The grave now seems to have fallen into neglect.

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Larry Knipfing

By Larry Knipfing

Community writer

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