Nikko Toshogu
Toshogu is where Ieyasu Tokugawa (ruling from 1603 to 1605) is enshrined; he was the first shogun of the Edo Shogunate, which flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries. As many as 127,000 craftsmen were involved in constructing the shrine, using the highest level of technology available at the time. The two-story “Yomei-mon Gate”, decorated with brilliant colors and over 500 sculptures, is particularly famous. It is also called “Higurashi-mon (sunset gate)”, because people spend all day long gazing at its beauty.
If you pass under Yomei-mon, turn right and enter the avenue leading to the shrine at the back, you will see the “Sleeping Cat” overhead, a national treasure created by legendary master Hidari Jingoro. The story behind the carving is that the cat was to ward off mice, because it is situated near the gate leading to the grave of Ieyasu. In the “Shinkyusha (sacred stable)” for the horses serving God, there is a series of 8 carved boards on which the life of a monkey is illustrated, from birth to pregnancy, caricaturing human life. One of the sculptures, the “Three Monkeys”, is famous throughout the world for the “see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil” poses. The carved monkeys covering their eyes, ears and mouth, respectively, were inspired by the Buddhist teaching that if we do not hear, see or speak evil, we ourselves shall be spared from evil, and the theme was chosen here in the belief that the monkeys would protect the horses from disease.
In addition to these carvings, there is also one of an elephant, purely from imagination, in a temple called “Kamijinko”. The Toshogu Three Sculptures are small, but incredibly beautiful, and there is always a crowd of people in front of them.
- Access : 30 min by bus from Nikko station
From Shinjuku,Ikebukuro, Shibuya To Nikko station
- Route to Nikko
- First, get on “Shonan-Shinjuku Line” from Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Shibuya to Ohmiya.
- Second, get on Tohoku Shinkansen from Ohmiya to Utsunomiya.
- And, you get on JR Nikko Line From Utsunomiya to Nikko.
- Price : ¥4,820 (fare :¥2,520 + shinkansen express fee: ¥2,300)
- Duration : about 2 hours
From Asakusa To Tobu Nikko station
- You can go to Tobu Nikko station directly from Tobu Asakusa Station
- Price : ¥2,620 (fare :¥1,320 + express fee: ¥1,300)
- Duration : about 2 hours
*[Caution] Tobu Asakusa Station is different from Tokyo Metro Asakusa station!
check Tobu Asakusa Station by this map
