After a period of strife and decline, by the early Meiji Period (1868-1912), Kamakura had become a remote, deserted rural area inhabited only by farmers and temple/shrine people. Then, in 1889, the opening of the Yokosuka Railway Line linked Tokyo to Kamakura and brought dramatic change. Drawn by its beach facing the Bay of Sagami, writers, painters, artists, doctors, professors and the well-to-do came to build summer resort homes, as they have done ever since. In a space of less than 40 square kilometers, Kamakura's population has now grown to a dense 170,000 people.

From: A Guide to Kamakura