Nikko


Gojyunoto, Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2005-03, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Hoto, Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2005-03, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2005-03, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Yomeimon, Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2005-03, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Yomeimon, Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2005-03, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2005-03, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Yomeimon, Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2011-02, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Karamon Gate, Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2005-03, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Toshogu Shrine, Nikko

2011-02, (C) Seiji Yoshimoto

Nikko

is a small histrical town located at 130km north of Tokyo. Nikko is famous for Toshogu, the most gorgeous shrine in Japan. Toshogu is the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for more than 250 years since 1603.

Yomeimon Gate

is the most beautiful architecture in Toshogu. It is decorated with more than 500 wooden carvings of imaginary beasts including dragons, qilins and dragon horses. Twelve white pillars are with similar spiral-shaped carvings. One left pillar has reversed spiralis and is called "reversing amulet".

More than 5000 elaborately decorated wooden carvings and a large amount of gold leaf were used to decorate the architecture in a way never seen in other shrines in Japan.

Karaomon Gate

is painted white and decorated with dragons of rosewood and ebony, and over 400 carvings of small flowers.


This is an experimental page being prepared for NPO InterCoS to introduce Nikko.
Photos are taken by using Canon EOS-5D, 5Dmk2 or EOS-20D. Copyright Seiji Yoshimoto 2014