Nikkô Tôshô-gû 日光東照宮

Mausoleum of Shôgun TOKUGAWA Ieyasu

Nikkô National Park / Tôchigi Prefecture

Tōshō-gū is a Shintō shrine in the city of Nikkō in Tochigi prefecture in the Nikkô National Park. It is dedicated to TOKUGAWA Ieyasu (1543-1616), founder of the Tokugawa dynasty, and was built in 1617 when Ieyasu’s son Hidetada. It was expanded by the third shōgun, TOKUGAWA Iemitsu, which includes the main buildings of the present shrine. In 1999 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other shrines and temples in Nikkō. Ieyasu is venerated in the Nikkō Tōshō-gū, and his remains are also interred here. Hundreds of stone steps lead up through a crescent fir forest to Ieyasu’s tomb in the inner district (okunoin) of the shrine. The Procession of a Thousand Warriors, which recreates the procession in which the shogun’s remains were transferred to Nikkô, takes place in May.