Nikkō Tōshō-gū Audio Guide

Nikkō Tōshō-gū: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Tōshō-gū shrine

   Welcome to Tōshō-gū shrine, known in Japanese as Nikkō Tōshōgū, tucked into the mountain precincts of Nikkō in Tochigi Prefecture. This is a place where a shogun became a god, and where the buildings were made to say so in gold, lacquer and carved color. The shrine honors Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Edo shogunate, who is worshipped here as Tōshō Daigongen, a deified form of the man himself. It is regarded as the head shrine of all the Tōshō-gū shrines across Japan, and it is counted among the three great ones, alongside Kunōzan Tōshō-gū and Ueno Tōshō-gū. Together with Futarasan Shrine and the Buddhist temple Rinnō-ji, it forms the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1999. Forty-two structures of this shrine are part of that listing. Over the next few minutes, we will look at why Ieyasu rests in these mountains, how this shrine was built to dazzle, and how the Edo-period spectacle still returns each year.

2. 02

   Why Ieyasu Rests at Tōshō-gū shrine

   Let's begin with a last wish. Ieyasu's instructions, recorded in the diary of his advisor Konchiin Sūden, were that his body be placed at Kunōzan. After the first anniversary had passed, a small hall was to be built at Nikkō, where he would be enshrined as a deity. His stated aim was to become the guardian of the eight provinces of the Kantō region, and that idea is usually understood as a promise to guard the peace of the whole country. Nikkō was not a random choice. The mountain had been opened as a sacred site by the monk Shōdō in the year 766, according to the temple Rinnō-ji next door. Over the centuries it became a revered religious center of eastern Japan, and the first Kamakura shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo, made donations to it. Historians read the Tokugawa decision to build here as drawing on that long-standing spiritual authority. There is also a poetic tradition. It is said that Ieyasu meant to watch over the Tokugawa realm from the position of the unmoving North Star. Admirers today also point out that the shrine lies directly north of Edo Castle, so the shrine and the capital of the shogunate seem to share one axis.

3. 03

   Gold, Carvings and the Gate at Tōshō-gū shrine

   Many Japanese shrines are admired for plain wood and quiet restraint. Tōshō-gū shrine takes the opposite road. Its buildings are covered in vividly colored carvings and gold leaf, and the effect is meant to overwhelm. The route takes you through a stone torii, and then to the famous Yōmeimon gate, whose richly detailed decoration has earned it a second name, Higurashi-mon, the gate you could gaze at until sunset. The scale of the project was national. The construction is said to have cost about one million ryo, roughly 10 billion yen in today's value, and the whole sum was covered by the shogunate. Later, under Tokugawa patronage, the shrine received many additions that gave it the grandeur you see now. Look up at the torii, too. The tablet there reads Tōshō Daigongen, the deity name of Ieyasu, and it is attributed to the hand of Emperor Go-Mizunoo. Out of the shrine's structures, five are designated National Treasures of Japan, and three more are Important Cultural Properties. Two swords owned by the shrine are National Treasures as well.

4. 04

   Processions and Living Tradition at Tōshō-gū shrine

   This shrine was never meant to be a quiet monument. During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate sent stately processions from Edo to Nikkō along the road known as the Nikkō Kaidō. Every spring and autumn, the shrine's festivals bring those journeys back to life, in the pageants called the processions of a thousand warriors. Objects here also tell of Japan's wider contacts. A Dutch lantern, gift of the Dutch East India Company, was presented to the shōgun in 1643, a small reminder that the glitter of Nikkō reached far beyond the mountains. The tradition is still evolving. In 2008, Yuri Kawasaki became the first woman ever to serve as a Shinto priest at this shrine. And the buildings are part of something larger: across the three sites of the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō, 103 buildings are protected, including nine National Treasures and 94 Important Cultural Properties. Together they show how closely religion and political power were woven in the age of the Tokugawa.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off from Tōshō-gū shrine

   Getting here is part of the story. From Tokyo, the train journey to Nikkō takes about two hours, and from the station you can continue by local bus or a short taxi ride. A lively old gateway town stretches between the JR Nikkō and Tobu Nikkō stations, leading toward the sacred precincts. As you walk, try to hold two images together: a man who wished to guard the peace of the country as a protecting deity, and a shrine built to proclaim that wish in color and gold. Notice how the carvings, the gates and the forest around them seem to answer each other. And if you wander on, the neighboring Futarasan Shrine and Rinnō-ji temple share the same World Heritage listing, each adding another layer to this mountain's long sacred history. What do you think a shogun hoped you would feel as you stepped through that gate?