From its gorgeous scenery tens of millions of years in the making to its precious World Heritage sites, the area around the Kinugawa offers stunning natural beauty such as the Ryuo-kyo Gorge and Kinu-Tateiwa Otsuribashi Suspension Bridge, as well as Nikkō's famous Tōshō-gū Shinto Shrine, dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the Edo period, shoguns would arrange processions from Edo - present day Tokyo - to the Tōshō-gū shrine at Nikkō, an event that's reenacted each year during the shrine’s spring and fall festivals. Considered to be Japan’s most lavishly decorated shrine, the shrines and temples of Nikko, together with their natural surroundings, have for centuries been a sacred site known for its architectural and decorative masterpieces decorated with vibrant colours, embellished with intricate carvings, and garnished with glittering gold leaf. Built in 1617, while Ieyasu’s son was shogun, Tōshō-gū was originally a simple mausoleum, but was enlarged into the dramatic complex one sees today in 1636, when Ieyasu’s grandson was in power. In 1999, Tōshō-gū was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site: of the 55 buildings that make up the complex, 8 are considered National Treasures, and 34 are Important Cultural Properties. The shrine comprises the gilded Yomeimon Gate, the main sanctuary set in a cedar grove and the tomb itself. The unforgettable beauty of this World Heritage Site creates a lasting memory of any trip to the Kinugawa region and Japan.
Entering Tōshō-gū one is greeted by an original five-storey pagoda that was donated by a daimyō in 1650, but was burned down during a fire, and was rebuilt in 1818. Each storey represents an element: earth, water, fire, wind and ether, in ascending order. Inside the pagoda, a central shinbashira pillar hangs from chains to minimize damage from earthquakes stands tall against a backdrop of sacred, old growth forest. Once inside the shrine, the first buildings are brightly painted stable of the shrine's sacred horses bearing a carving of the three wise monkeys, who hear, speak and see no evil, a traditional symbol in Chinese and Japanese culture. Around the corner from the stable and storehouses, are beautiful moss covered stone lanterns, perfectly aligned in front of the library or Kyozo. The gem at the Tōshō-gū is the richly decorated Yōmeimon Gate. Designated a National Treasure and one of the most beautiful gates in Japan, Yomeimon Gate is said to have been given the name “Main Gate of the Imperial Court.” It is also called “Gate of the Setting Sun” because one could gaze upon it all day and never tire.
Kinugawa River with mountains covered with rainy mist
Japanese breakfast served by Saiko in our room before we depart for Tosho-gu
Local yogurt with Japanese pear and plum
Warm spinach and enoki mushrooms
Japanese pickles
Minced daikon with yam
Miso Soup with lettuce and bamboo shoot
Japanese Okayu, a style of rice porridge
Green leaf salad with edamame and tomato
Barley and beans
Tofu skin with marinated cucumber in sweet broth
Saiko serving rice for my Japanese breakfast
Japanese iron and wood kamameshi rice pot from which Saiko served the rice
Delicious hot rice
Cold Salmon with ginger, tomato, yam and daikon
Warm mange-tout and eggplant
Pot of green tea
The front lobby of Kinugawa Kanaya Onsen as we left for the train from Kinugawa
to Tōshō-gū Shinto Shrine
The tiny two carriage Kinugawa train to Nikkō that runs about as fast as bus
View of lovely green rice fields from the train
From Nikkō we hailed a taxi to Tōshō-gū Shinto Shrine,
stopping briefly at Shinkyo Bridge which stands at the entrance to Nikko's shrines and temples
Weathered stone path leading up to Toshogu with moss covered wall and tall Japanese pines
Five-story pagoda at Nikkō Tōshō-gū
Moss covered lanterns lead the way to the shrine
Hundreds of small ema, or small wooden plaques common to Japan,
in which Shinto and Buddhist worshippers write prayers or wishes
The gorgeous Kamijinko Storehouse
A pair of carved elephants adorn the gable of Kamijinko Storehouse,
and were carved by an artist who had never seen elephants
The Nakajinko Middle Sacred Storehouse
The brightly painted stable of the shrine's sacred horses
One of the three wise monkeys on the carved rooftop panels
A sea of umbrellas make their way up to Yomeimon Gate
Toshogu drumtower stands in front of Yomeimon Gate
The richly decorated Yōmeimon Gate is designated a National Treasure and is
one of the most beautiful gates in Japan
The Kyozo or Rinzo is a revolving library holding 7,000 sutra or sacred texts
The rain kept pouring all afternoon, and although it made for a wet day
it gave the shrine a hauntingly beautiful aura
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