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is a Shinto shrine located in Nikko
Nikko, Tochigi

is a cities of Japan located in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Located approximately 140 km north of Tokyo and approximately 35 km west of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, the capital of Tochigi, it is a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists, housing the mausoleum of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and that of his grandson...
, Tochigi Prefecture
Tochigi Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi. Utsunomiya is famous for its many Jiaozi specialist shops....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
. It is part of the "Shrines and Temples of Nikko", a UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
 World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
.

Tosho-gu is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu

Japanese name|Tokugawa}} was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868....
, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the , and the , was a feudalism regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family....
. Initially built in 1617, during the Edo period
Edo period

The , or , is a division of History of Japan running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
, while Ieyasu's son Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada

was the second shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu....
 was shogun
Shogun

is a military rank and historical title for Hereditary Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces of Japan. The Japanese word for "general", it is made up of two kanji characters: sho, meaning "commander", "general", or "admiral", and gun meaning military troops or warriors....
, it was enlarged during the time of the third shogun, Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu , sometimes Romanisation Iyemitsu, was the third shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate who reigned from 1623 to 1651. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu....
. Ieyasu is enshrined here, and his remains are entombed here.

During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate carried out stately processions from Edo
Edo

, literally: Headlands and bays-door, "estuary", ), also Romanization of Japanese as Yedo or Yeddo, is the Geographical renaming of the Capital of Japan Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868....
 to the Nikko Tosho-gu along the Nikko Kaido
Nikko Kaido

The was one of the Edo Five Routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo with the Nikko Tosho-gu, which is located in the present-day city of Nikko, Tochigi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan....
.






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is a Shinto shrine located in Nikko
Nikko, Tochigi

is a cities of Japan located in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Located approximately 140 km north of Tokyo and approximately 35 km west of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, the capital of Tochigi, it is a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists, housing the mausoleum of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and that of his grandson...
, Tochigi Prefecture
Tochigi Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi. Utsunomiya is famous for its many Jiaozi specialist shops....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
. It is part of the "Shrines and Temples of Nikko", a UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
 World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
.

Tosho-gu is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu

Japanese name|Tokugawa}} was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868....
, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the , and the , was a feudalism regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family....
. Initially built in 1617, during the Edo period
Edo period

The , or , is a division of History of Japan running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
, while Ieyasu's son Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada

was the second shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu....
 was shogun
Shogun

is a military rank and historical title for Hereditary Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces of Japan. The Japanese word for "general", it is made up of two kanji characters: sho, meaning "commander", "general", or "admiral", and gun meaning military troops or warriors....
, it was enlarged during the time of the third shogun, Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu , sometimes Romanisation Iyemitsu, was the third shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate who reigned from 1623 to 1651. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu....
. Ieyasu is enshrined here, and his remains are entombed here.

During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate carried out stately processions from Edo
Edo

, literally: Headlands and bays-door, "estuary", ), also Romanization of Japanese as Yedo or Yeddo, is the Geographical renaming of the Capital of Japan Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868....
 to the Nikko Tosho-gu along the Nikko Kaido
Nikko Kaido

The was one of the Edo Five Routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo with the Nikko Tosho-gu, which is located in the present-day city of Nikko, Tochigi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan....
. The shrine's annual spring and autumn festivals reenact these occasions, and are known as "processions of a thousand warriors."

Five structures at Nikko Tosho-gu are categorized as National Treasures of Japan
National treasures of Japan

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of the government of Japan designates the most famous of the nation's cultural properties as National Treasures ....
, and three more as Important Cultural Properties. Additionally, two swords in the possession of the shrine are National Treasures, and numerous other objects are Important Cultural Properties. Famous buildings at the Tosho-gu include the Yomei-mon, a gate that is also known as "higurashi-no-mon." The latter name means that one could look at it until sundown, and not tire of seeing it. Carvings in deep relief, painted in rich colors, decorate the surface of the structure. The next gate is the Kara-mon, named for its carvings in the Chinese style. The decorations on this one are painted white. Nearby, a carving of the sleepy cat, "Nemuri-Neko", is attributed to Hidari Jingoro
Hidari Jingoro

was a possibly fictitious Japanese artist, sculptor and carpenter. Although various studies suggest he was active in the early Edo period , there are controversies about the historical existence of the person....
.

The stable of the shrine's sacred horses bears a carving of the three wise monkeys
Three wise monkeys

The three wise monkeys are a pictorial saying. Together they embody the proverbial principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"....
, who hear, speak and see no evil, a traditional symbol in Chinese and Japanese culture.

The original five-story pagoda was donated by a daimyo
Daimyo

The were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. The term derives from a shortening of the title , which literally means "great named land" and originally simply referred to the owner of a large estate....
 in 1650, but it was burned down during a fire, and was rebuilt in 1818. Each story represents an element - earth, water, fire, wind and heaven - in ascending order.

Hundreds of stone steps lead through the cryptomeria
Cryptomeria

Cryptomeria is a genus of Pinophyta in the Cupressaceae family Cupressaceae formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae; it includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica ....
 forest up to the grave of Ieyasu. A torii
Torii

A is a traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entry to a Jinja , although it can be found at Buddhism in Japan temples as well.The basic structure of a torii is two columns called that are topped with a horizontal rail called the kasagi....
 at the top bears calligraphy attributed to Emperor Go-Mizunoo
Emperor Go-Mizunoo

[Image:GoMizunoo Kyoto.jpg|thumb|right|The tomb of Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Kyoto Emperor Go-Mizunoo was the 108th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....
. A bronze urn contains the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

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