Shitodo Cave located in Yugawara-machi, Kanagawa pref. is an old cave hollowed behind a waterfall. The frontage is very wide but its depth is no more than 10 m. There are about twenty stone markers and statues of Kannon (the goddess of mercy) inside the cave. Minamoto no Yoritomo, who had been defeated in Heiji Rebellion and sent into exile in Izu province, decided to rebel against the Taira, but was defeated again in the battle of Ishibashiyama in 1180. Yoritomo and his seven warriors made an escape in the mountains and concealed themselves in caves and hollows in trees. They finally found this cave and survived to fight another day. “Shitodo” means a little bird in ancient Japanese, and it is said that the name of the cave comes from a story that a bird had flown away when Yoritomo stepped into this cave. It was this Shitodo Cave that changed the tide of history.