Nikko is about 2 hours outside of Tokyo and known for the mausoleum and shrine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who founded the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603. The 200 years for which his family ruled also became known as the Edo period, a time of great economic and intellectual development that ended with the Meiji Restoration and the forceful entry of American trade ships into Japan.
We arrived in a beautiful morning where the sun was shining and a breeze whispered away the Indian summer heat. The colors of fall haven’t made their way here yet, the wide open road leading up to the Toshogu Shrine was lined with tall and gorgeous trees, and one can only imagine the tranquility this place offered (if not for the thousands of swarming tourists).
Although the mausoleum had been simple at Ieyasu’s death, his grandson Iemitsu built it into a magnificent complex that borders on grandiose. Hundreds of wood carvings cover the walls of each building, and the corners of the rooftops were all lined with gold.
Above the the stable that housed the sacred horses were carvings of the famous three wise monkeys and their posse.
We even got to see a sacred horse!
The style of architecture is much more like Chinese temples, and you can see the obvious influence from some of the carvings.
Having visited countless Chinese palaces and temples known for their rich decor, the extravagance of the Yomeimon still wowed me.
The wooden dragons engraved over the white doors was a unique touch.
As we completed our round at the Toshogu shrine, we walked down the open road to visit the other famous temple, Rinnoji. Shrines are are dedicated to the Shinto religion, a native Japanese belief based on gods (kami) of heaven and earth. Most Shinto shrines have a distinct simple style and earthy tones, unlike Buddhist temples. Buddhism came to Japan from China and Korea in the 6th century, and you can see many more similarities between temples in Japan and other places in Asia.
For some reason temples are always going through renovation in Japan, and instead of closing off the whole thing, a structure is built over the temple, and a picture is painted on the structure (so people know that’s what it looks like?). I found this practice to be extremely amusing. But as you can see, Rinnoji was under renovation!
Before you visit a shrine or a temple, you must wash your hands as a symbolic cleansing gesture. See link for proper etiquette. I’m pretty sure this is a Shinto practice, but it seems that many Buddhist temples have adopted it as well.
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