In this guide
Let us introduce World Heritage shrine Nikko Toshogu. It is a Shinto shrine established in 1617 to enshrine Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate and the complex was registered as a World Heritage in December 1999.
Almost all of the present-day shrine complex was rebuilt in 1636, twenty years after Tokugawa Ieyasu’s enshrinement. Fifty-five buildings, including Yomeimon Gate (designated a National Treasure), were completed in just one year and five months.
One of the special features of the shrine complex is the use of paths and stairways that follow the natural topography of the site, allowing the arrangement of the shrine buildings in a pleasing balance to create a solemn, religious atmosphere.
The buildings are lacquered and decorated with vibrant colors, and the pillars and other structures are covered in a multitude of carvings.
The carvings are not simply design elements; they convey expressions of religious belief as well as scholarship and philosophy.
【Nikko Toshogu Shrine】
- Address: 2301 Sannai, Nikko, Tochigi
- Tel: +(81) 288-54-0560
- Hour: 8:00~17:00
- https://www.toshogu.jp/
