Tour Nikko/Dokkugawa(德川家康) Cultures

Travel video about destination Nikko in Japan. North of Tokyo, and surrounded by extensive woodland, is the shrine complex of Nikko. The elegant Taiyuin-Byo Shrine uniquely combines the shrine and temple architecture of the Momayama Era. The Futarasan Shrine lies opposite, almost hidden within the hills and forests which, particularly in autumn, enchant with a blaze of vivid colour. The first Tokugawa-Shogun, Ieyasu, left precise regulations for his burial. As both an incarnation of a Buddhist and Shinto deity, the powerful ruler wanted to protect his empire even in death. Twenty years after Ieyasu‘s demise, his grandson Iemitsu assembled up to fifteen thousand craftsmen and over a hundred of the most important artists of the time. Influenced by the Chinese Kano School, and in only two years of construction, they created massive monuments on the edge of the Nikko Mountains, the complex of which comprises both a Buddhist and Shinto area. Past a five-storey pagoda and stone and bronze lanterns, the route leads to the Holy Stable. Three Wise Monkeys decorate the building which see, hear and speak no evil. For two years, craftsmen were constantly busy with construction work, design, gilding, painting and varnishing. Thus, without doubt, came into being the most powerful and magnificent temple complex in Japan. Nikko encapsulates history, highly-revered burial ground and a refuge of faith.