Shrine
of the Shogun
A
painting depicting an aerial view of Toshogu Shrine.
"Nikko
is best known as the site of the Toshogu Shrine, an explosion
of color and craftmanship that is one of the most dazzling
architectural specimens in Asia. All gold and richly colored
lacquer, decorated with elaborate carvings of all manner of
beasts, plant life and gargoyles, Toshogu is Japan's Versailles
- lavish, ornate and monumental. It is set in a vast green
slice of towering cedar trees, a scene of serenity that not
even the onslaught of endless processions of flag-waving,
picture-snapping Japanese tour groups can entirely disrupt.
The Toshogu
Shrine was built in the first half of the 17th century and
was consecrated to the Tokugawa shogunate, the last of the
five families of shoguns, or military dictators, who ruled
Japan for nearly 700 years under the nominal leadership of
an emperor. Situated at the entrance to Nikko National Park,
the shrine includes about 30 structures, nearly all of which
have been designated by the Japanese government as national
treasures or important cultural properties." (an exerpt
from the September 11, 1983 issue of the New York Times, written
by Steve Lohr).
Below
are images from the day we spent at this extraordinary shrine.
