Fujisawa

Fujisawa: Shojoko Temple

Fujisawa, city, southern Kanagawa ken (prefecture), east-central Honshu, Japan. It is situated on Sagami Bay of the Pacific Ocean, between Chigasaki (west) and Kamakura (east).

During the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867), Fujisawa was a post town on the Tōkaidō (“Eastern Sea Road”)—the main historic land route between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyōto. After the Tōkaidō Line (railway) was opened in 1889, Fujisawa grew as a residential suburb of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area. The northern part of the city was the site of industrial development (automobiles, electric appliances) after World War II. To the south is Kugenuma beach and the resorts of Katase and Eno Island. The yacht harbour on Eno Island was the location for the sailing competitions during the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. Fujisawa is the site of the Shojoko Temple (Yugyo Temple; 1325), the main temple of the Ji (“Times”) sect of Pure Land Buddhism. Pop. (2010) 409,657; (2015) 423,894.