Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
stands on a rock at the entrance. The large, red-painted hall,
Sanbutsu-dō
, houses
three giant gilded statues: the thousand-handed Kannon, the Amida Buddha and
the fearsome horse-headed Kannon. It's worth the entry fee to view these
awe-inspiring figures from directly beneath their lotus-flower perches. Note that
this hall will remain under protective housing until 2020, as part of a mammoth
restoration programme. Rinnō-ji's
Treasure House
(Hōmotsuden;
ๅ఼
),
opposite the Sanbutsu-dō, has some interesting items on display, but its nicest
feature is the attached Shōyō-en, an elegant garden with a strolling route around
a small pond.
Tōshō-gū
౦রٶ
• Daily: April-Oct 8am-5pm; Nov-March 8am-4pm • ¥1300
Although Nikkō has been a holy place in the Buddhist and Shinto religions for over a
thousand years (a hermitage was built here in the eighth century), its fortunes only
took off with the death of
Tokugawa Ieyasu
in 1616. In his will, the shogun requested
that a shrine be built here in his honour. However, the complex, completed in 1617,
was deemed not nearly impressive enough by Ieyasu's grandson,
Tokugawa Iemitsu
,
who ordered work to begin on the elaborate mausoleum seen today. Iemitsu's dazzling
vision was driven by practical as well as aesthetic considerations: he wanted to stop rival
lords amassing money of their own, so he ordered the
daimyō
to supply the materials
for the shrine, and to pay the thousands of craftsmen.
The mausoleum was completed in 1634, and ever since the jury has been out
on its over-the-top design, the antithesis of the usually austere Shinto shrines,
and often considered overbearingly gaudy. Whatever you make of it,
Tōshō-gū
(the name means “sunlight”) certainly conveys the immense power and wealth of
the Tokugawa dynasty.
20
The shrine complex
Broad, tree-lined Omotesandō leads up to the main
entrance
to Tōshō-gū, just to
the northwest of Rinnō-ji. You'll pass under a giant stone
torii
(one of the few
remaining features of the original 1617 shrine), while on the left is an impressive
red and green five-storey pagoda, an 1819 reconstruction of a 1650 original,
which burned down. Ahead is the Omote-mon gate, the entrance to the main
shrine precincts.
Once inside, turn left to reach the
Three Sacred Storehouses
(Sanjinko) on the right
and the
Sacred Stables
(Shinkyūsha) on the left, where you'll spot some of Tōshō-gū's
many famous painted woodcarvings - the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil”
monkeys
, which represent the three major principles of Tendai Buddhism. The route
leads to the steps up to the dazzling
Yōmei-mon
(Sun Blaze Gate), with its wildly
ornate carvings, gilt and intricate decoration. A belfry and drum tower stand alone in
front of the gate. Behind the drum tower is the
Honji-dō
; this small hall is part of
Rinnō-ji temple and contains a ceiling painting of a “roaring dragon”; a priest will
demonstrate how to make the dragon roar by standing beneath its head and clapping
to create an echo.
NIKKŌ FESTIVALS
Every year, on May 18, the
Grand Festival
re-stages the spectacular burial of Ieyasu at
Tōshō-gū, with a cast of over one thousand costumed priests and warriors taking part in
a colourful procession through the shrine grounds, topped off with horseback archery.
It's well worth attending, as is the smaller-scale festival on October 17, which doesn't
have the archery and only lasts half a day. This is followed by
“Light Up Nikkō”
(end of
Oct/beginning of Nov), during which the major temple buildings are illuminated at night
to great effect.
