|
|
|
|
|
The pinnacle of Japanese shrine architecture, Nikko’s construction employed 4.5 million artists and craftsmen for 17 months and cost the equivalent of 40 billion yen. It enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa Shogun and one of Japan’s three great unifiers.
As the Nikko Section contains over 100 highly-detailed images, I have split the section into three pages. This first page covers the entrance area and the Lower Level. The second page covers the Yomeimon Gate and the Tozai Kairo including the Tozai Kairo’s ornate exterior nature panels. The third page covers the Upper Level, including the Honsha (central shrine) and Okusha (inner shrine). I have provided a hyperlinked index to the entire three-page section on each page, so you can navigate to any part of Nikko if you want to.
This section shows a little over half of the images in the Nikko Portfolios.
Click an image to open a larger version. Use your back button to return to this page. Composites will open in a second window.
Nikko Section Index
|
— Links are grouped by pages —
The Entrance The Tale of the Three Monkeys The Lower Level
|
The Yomeimon Gate Tozai Kairo (Colonnade) Tozai Kairo exterior panels
The Upper Level Honsha (central shrine) Okusha (innermost shrine)
|
Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Japan Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 21 Galleries in the Photoshelter Japan Collection — Nikko Toshogu Shrine is in the following Galleries (Direct Link) —
Nikko Toshogu Shrine: Lower Level
Nikko Toshogu Shrine: Honsha and Okusha
|
Nikko Toshogu Shrine
Two hours northeast of Tokyo by train, in the Cryptomeria forests around Mt. Nantai, lies Nikko, the site of the premiere Toshogu Shrine and Ieyasu Tokugawa’s tomb. This magnificent architecture blends with the forest to create a visual and spiritual impression that is awe-inspiring and truly memorable. Nikko’s Toshogu Shrine represents the pinnacle of Japanese Shrine architecture. Below you will find a very comprehensive set of images of the Toshogu Shrine. I’ve tried to cover it completely.
|
|
There’s a saying in Japan:
|
|
“See Nikko before you die”.
|
|
It cost the equivalent of 40 billion yen in today’s currency to build... that’s a $333 million shrine. ( ! ) 4.5 million people worked on the shrine for 17 months to complete the construction. The very finest of Japan’s artists and sculptors (especially sculptors), and the best craftsmen were on the project.
|
|
Nikko is an amazing place. I tried to cover it completely. The most extensive section of the Japan portfolio, I have used more wide thumbnails than usual. The buildings and decorations are very detailed and quite ornate, extensively sculpted and painted, and the location in a forest adds detail due to the fine needles. This is an unbelievably detailed place.
|
|
Because of all the needles and detailed sculpturing of the buildings, file sizes can grow larger. I used more of the wide thumbnails so that enough detail is exhibited in display images and to allow easier decisions on which of the larger images to open. I guarantee you’ll find it worth the time to open many of the large versions of these shots.
|
|
|
|
The Entrance
Nikko Forest Koma-inu 8072
This Koma-inu (Lion-Dog) is standing guard over a small shrine outside of the Toshogu Shrine entrance.
Some of the images on this page were created from the full-sized versions, thus the text in title bars will be smaller.
|
Nikko Forest Jizo Dosojin 8076
Dosojin are protective stone markers, placed on roads, borders, forest paths, mountain passes, etc. Jizo is the guardian of travelers and pilgrims, so a Dosojin representing Jizo Bosatsu is a common sight, especially on a mountain path near a shrine. This type is also called a sekibutsu.
|
Nikko Forest Nyoirin Kannon Dosojin 8073
Nyoirin Kannon is most often represented carrying the Wish Granting Jewel, but not in this case. Nyoirin Kannon is often represented as the six-armed Shingon version (at Shitennoji). This Dosojin Nyorin Kannon is a two-armed version seated on a lotus, with the right arm in a characteristic position.
|
Nikko Forest Sekibutsu 8076
Sekibutsu is literally a Stone Buddha. This can refer to small Jizo statues like the one above, or enormous cliff carvings. This one protects the hokora shown at right.
|
Nikko Forest Hokora Shrine 8070
A Hokora is a miniature Shinto shrine. The name originally derived from the word for a Kami (Shinto deity) repository. Often, small communities erected a hokora as a local shrine.
|
Nikko Tokugawa Stele 8465
Stele with inscription “Toshogu” and gold Tokugawa kamon (family crest, three Hollyhocks) in front of the Ishidorii (stone torii) leading to the Omotemon (front gate) at Nikko Toshogu shrine.
|
Nikko Ishidorii 8472
The Ishidorii (Stone Torii) gate is 30 feet (9 meters) tall and is the largest Edo-period stone Torii in Japan (and one of the three best stone Torii... the other two exceptional stone Torii are at the Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura). It was constructed of 15 pieces of granite, and is designed to move rather than collapse in an earthquake. The width of each step leading to the Ishidorii gets narrower as you climb, and the height gets lower. This is to correct for perspective... it makes it look higher and further than it is.
In the distance beyond the Ishidorii is the Omotemon gate with its Nio sculptures.
The exquisite Cryptomeria (Sugi) trees seen throughout this section are a member of the Cypress family. They are endemic to Japan, and are the National Tree.
|
Nikko Gojunoto 8835
The five-story pagoda (gojunoto) at Nikko has no floors inside. A 2 foot diameter pillar is suspended by a chain from the level of the fourth story to within 5 inches of the ground floor to stabilize the structure during earthquakes or high winds.
|
Nikko Gojunoto 8841
The Nikko pagoda is 118 feet tall and was contributed in 1650 by Sakai Tadakatsu (the Governor), but it burned in 1815. His descendants rebuilt it in 1818. There are no floors inside. It has sculptures of animals on the first level depicting the twelve zodiac signs and the twelve directions, and a sculpture of Dainichi Nyorai is enshrined inside the pagoda.
|
Nikko Gojunoto 8497
It was a nightmare to achieve a decent exposure of the sunlit pagoda against a white sky, so I gave up the sky and exposed for the fluorescing vermilion paint.
Nikko Gojunoto detail 8858
Detail of the first two levels of the Nikko Gojunoto. The brilliant vermilion paint fluoresced when the sun hit it.
The normally dull color of the shadowed pagoda explodes into blinding red in the sunlight.
|
Nikko Gojunoto 8858
|
Nikko Gojunoto detail 0020
|
These two images were taken the same day with two different cameras. The one on the right was shot a bit earlier, and to try to pull color against the horrendously bright sky, I used the most expedient method... I just cropped the sky out of the shot in-camera. Once I was sure I had a usable shot I just waited until the pagoda fluoresced and got the other shots, white sky or no white sky. I guess you can tell that I was completely obsessed with getting a usable shot of this pagoda.
Compare these with the lower-saturated shot below right. Most of the time I was in Nikko, the sun was on the other side of the pagoda, as it is below.
Nikko Gojunoto 8390, 8488 (Composite will open in a second tab or window)
The image on the left was taken from behind the pagoda.
|
Nikko Bronze Lantern 8119
A Kondo-doro (gilded bronze lantern), one of the most interesting lanterns of all those I saw at the many shrines and temples of Japan, with Tokugawa hollyhock kamon, dragons, koma-inu lion-dogs, and a Hoju sacred jewel.
|
Nikko Lanterns 8495
A row of stone lanterns donated by Daimyo (feudal lords) from all over Japan lines the path from the south entrance. Buddhist sutra states that it is virtuous to offer light to the Buddha (the lanterns are symbolic offerings to Buddha).
|
Nikko Lanterns 8491
Ishidoro (stone lanterns) lined up outside the outer wall of the lower level at Nikko Toshogu Shrine.
|
Nikko Nio Ungyoh 8366
|
Nikko Nio Agyoh 8366 (Kongo-rikishi guardians)
|
The Nio, which can be seen in the image of the Ishidorii (in the two rectangular openings in the Omotemon Gate beyond the Torii), are 13 feet (4 meters) tall. The gate used to be called Nio-mon because of them, but when the Meiji government demanded the separation of Shinto and Buddhism the Nio were relocated to the Taiyuin Mausoleum and the name of the gate was changed to Omotemon (Front Gate). The statues were reinstalled in the Omotemon Gate in 1897.
|
Nikko Shinkyo 8535
The Sacred Horse stable (Shinkyo or Shinkyu) houses two white horses which are used for the thousand-person Samurai-style processions.
|
Nikko Shinkyo 8355
The Sansaru (three monkeys) panels are on the exterior. Monkeys were kept as guardians in stables until the Muromachi period (1336-1573).
|
Nikko Shinkyo detail 8539
I have provided this detail image without watermark.
As you can see from image 8355 above right, there are eight panels. Unfortunately, I took closeups of only the front five panels the day before, and as you can see from the image above right, the sun was on the other 3, stopping me from taking them that afternoon. I forgot to get them the next day.
To compensate, below are large images of the five Hidari Jingoro Shinkyo panels I did take.
|
— Return to the Index at the top of this page —
Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Japan Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 21 Galleries in the Photoshelter Japan Collection — Nikko Toshogu Shrine is in the following Galleries (Direct Link) —
Nikko Toshogu Shrine: Lower Level
Nikko Toshogu Shrine: Honsha and Okusha
|
The Tale of the Three Monkeys
Carved by the famous sculptor Hidari Jingoro, the panels on the Shinkyo (Sacred Horse Stable) tell the Tale of the Three Monkeys. The most famous of them is Mizaru; Iwazaru; Kikazaru (See no Evil, Speak no Evil, Hear no Evil).
Monkeys are associated with the Shinkyo because it was believed that monkeys protect horses.
Built in 1636 in Shoin-zukuri style (the style used for feudal lord’s residences), the Shinkyo is the only unpainted bare wood building in the Nikko Toshogu shrine.
|
Shinkyo Panel One 8107
The mother monkey looks into the future of her child; the child looks into the mother’s face with trust.
|
Shinkyo Panel Two 8105
See no Evil; Speak no Evil; Hear no Evil.
|
Shinkyo Panel Three 8108
The child prepares for independence.
|
Shinkyo Panel Four 8109
Look to the sky with great ambition (clouds symbolize ambition).
|
Shinkyo Panel Five 8110
Live your life with honor; friends look out for one another.
The three panels I didn’t shoot are:
— Return to the Index at the top of this page —
|
The Lower Level
Nikko Kamijinko Kyozo 8524
This is the lower level of Nikko Toshogu Shrine.
From the left are the Omizuya (where visitors wash their hands before entering the Shrine), Kyozo (where the sacred Sutras are kept), Karadou Torii gate (first bronze Torii in Japan), the steps leading up to the next level, and on the right is the Kamijinko, one of three sacred storehouses built in Azekura-zukuri style. On the Kamijinko can be seen the sculptures of the Imaginary Elephants (they were created by artists who had never seen an elephant).
|
Nikko Shimojinko 8098
|
Azekura-zukuri architecture
The three storehouses just inside the Omotemon gate are built in the Azekura-zukuri style of shrine architecture.
The design was copied from the Shosoin storehouse at the Todaiji temple in Nara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. and a National Treasure of Japan. Built in 756, the Shosoin is the oldest and largest building of its type. It is a log building especially designed to preserve its contents in Japan’s humid climate. The far less ornate Shosoin is the earliest example of an environmentally controlled building, and it was the Imperial Repository of Japan until it was just recently replaced with a modern concrete building. Shosoin still houses 9000 items, including instruments, clothing, art, documents, and items from 8th c. China, India, Greece, Rome, Egypt and Persia.
Azekura-zukuri buildings are supported on heavy posts and have raised floors. The logs are cut in a triangular section (although some Azekura buildings use round or square logs) and the apex of the triangle is out, so the inner walls are flat.
Click here to see an image of a treasure building in the Azekura-zukuri style built at the same time as the Shosoin.
The storehouses hold costumes and equipment for the Togyosai Festival, a 1000-person Samurai style procession where the Mikoshi (palanquins for the deities) are carried to the Futarasan shrine.
|
Nikko Omizuya 8811
Nikko’s Chozuya is called Omizuya (Mizu means water). This is where visitors purify for the shrine by washing their hands and mouth with water. (detail crops are linked from images below)
To the right, a shot of the Kamijinko taken late the afternoon before. I have posted a large version (960×1200) to allow you to examine the architectural details and the carvings of the “Imaginary Elephants”.
|
Nikko Kamijinko 8100
|
Nikko Omizuya detail 8809 (Image will open in a second window)
Recently restored (a 15-year project) by Mr. Yoshihara Hokusai, who rediscovered the ancient Kano school technique of Mitsuda-e, a paint mixing and application technique resistant to UV light and water (lost in the Meiji era).
|
Nikko Omizuya detail 8116 (Composite will open in a second window)
The restoration depicts what the paintings by the Kano School artists looked like when completed in the early 17th century. Several buildings were completed before Mr. Hokusai died in 1998. His 35-step process using 7 colors was not taught to an apprentice, but he did teach craftsmen how to apply the paint.
|
Nikko Kamijinko detail 8111c
Detail of the “Imaginary Elephants” from the Kamijinko. Note the clawed feet, horse-like tails and manes, and funnel-shaped ears.
The sculptures and buildings at Nikko were painted by Kano Tanyu and his assistants of the famed Kano school of painting using the Mitsuda-e technique.
|
Nikko Kamijinko 8126
The front of the Kamijinko Sacred Storehouse, constructed in Azekura-zukuri style.
|
— Return to the Index at the top of this page —
Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Japan Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 21 Galleries in the Photoshelter Japan Collection — Nikko Toshogu Shrine is in the following Galleries (Direct Link) —
Nikko Toshogu Shrine: Lower Level
Nikko Toshogu Shrine: Honsha and Okusha
|
Nikko Kamijinko Shoro 8546
The front of the Kamijinko with the Shoro (bell tower) in the background.
|
Nikko Bronze Torii Kyozo 8529
Detail of the first level of Nikko, showing the bronze torii that Tokugawa Iemitsu had his craftsmen build for Ieyasu’s shrine. It cost the equivalent of 200 million yen.
This was the first bronze torii in Japan. There are lotus flowers at the foot of the pillars. This is very unusual at a Shinto shrine because the lotus is associated with Buddhism.
|
Nikko Kyozo Koro 8542
The Kyozo is the storehouse for Sutras (sacred books on Buddhism). The Koro is used to store the drums, and houses the suspended drum used to toll the hours.
|
Nikko Kyozo Koro 8121
Taken late the previous afternoon. The light was very sketchy that day, as shadows and haze often conspired with the location of the sun to yield poor results. In this particular case things worked out pretty well after some serious processing magic on this and the next shot.
|
Nikko Kyozo detail 8124
As you can see, the combination of light angle and color temperature along with the natural diffusion caused by the haze actually helped by reducing the shadows and lending a pleasing color to the Kyozo. Sometimes it just works out that way.
|
Nikko Kyozo 8559
The front of the Kyozo Sutra Storehouse.
|
Nikko Kyozo 8794
The Kyozo (sutra storehouse) from the top of the stairs at the far right in image 8542 (two above).
|
Nikko Shoro 8304
The Shoro (bell tower) stands on one side of the Yomeimon gate, and the very similar Koro (drum tower) stands on the other side of the gate.
They are nearly identical, but the Shoro has more carvings (78 vs. 38) and the carvings on the Shoro are crane, dragon, giraffe (a single-horned dragon with a two-part hoof), flying dragons, and waves. The Koro has turtles, dragons and clouds.
|
Nikko Korean Bell Shoro 8345
|
The Korean bell was donated by the emissaries from Korea who came to celebrate the birth of Tokugawa Iemitsu’s son Ietsuna, who later became the 4th Tokugawa Shogun.
Nikko Shoro detail 8304
A large detail crop reprocessed to bring out the detail in the carvings.
|
Yakushi-do detail 8334
To illustrate the level of interior detail, two images from the entrance lintel and interior crown work of the Yakushi-do (Yakushi Nyorai Hall) next to the Koro.
|
Yakushi-do detail 8342
Note the nature carvings and painted detail.
|
Click banner above to go to the Nikko 2 page.
|
Click banner above to go to the Nikko 3 page.
|
— Return to the Index at the top of this page —
Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Japan Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 21 Galleries in the Photoshelter Japan Collection — Nikko Toshogu Shrine is in the following Galleries (Direct Link) —
Nikko Toshogu Shrine: Lower Level
Nikko Toshogu Shrine: Honsha and Okusha
|
Return to the Shinto Shrines index page
|
Return to the Master Index on the Japan Select page
|
|
|
|
|
|