Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [133]
* * *
ROAD-TRIPPING, EDO-STYLE
You know that old chestnut about all roads leading to Rome? Well, in Edo-era Japan all of the important roads literally led to the shōgun’s capital.
Under a system called sankin-kotai, daimyō (feudal lords) were required to maintain residences in Edo as well as in their home provinces and go back and forth to attend to affairs in both places. Their families, meanwhile, remained in Edo in order to suppress temptation towards insurrection. Travel to the provinces was via main ‘trunk’ roads, including the Tōkaidō (‘Eastern Sea road’, connecting Edo to Heian-kyō, now Kyoto), the Nikkō-kaidō (Nikkō road) and the Nakasendō (‘Central Mountain road’, most notably through Nagano-ken).
These roads became celebrated, notably through Hiroshige’s series of ukiyo-e (wood-block prints) entitled 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō. At the ‘stations’, inns thrived and nobles and their retainers could unwind after long days. Strategically located stations housed checkpoints, 50 in all, called sekisho. Travelling commoners had to present a tegata (a wooden plaque that served as a passport) and subject themselves to inspection for contraband, such as weaponry. Violation of these rules – including trying to circumnavigate the sekisho – could bring severe penalties including a particularly ghastly form of crucifixion. The sekisho at Hakone and Kiso-Fukushima were among the most important and remain the best preserved. Other atmospheric station towns are Arimatsu on the Tōkaidō and Tsumago on the Nakasendō.
* * *
Pass through another torii, climb another flight of stairs, and on the left and right are a drum tower and a belfry. To the left of the drum tower is Honji-dō (Yakushido). This hall is best known for the painting on its ceiling of the Nakiryū (Crying Dragon). Monks demonstrate the acoustical properties of this hall by clapping two sticks together. The dragon ‘roars’ (a bit of a stretch) when the sticks are clapped beneath the dragon’s mouth, but not elsewhere.
Next comes Yōmei-mon (Sunset Gate), dazzlingly decorated with glimmering gold leaf and intricate, coloured carvings and paintings of flowers, dancing girls, mythical beasts and Chinese sages. Worrying that its perfection might arouse envy in the gods, those responsible for its construction had the final supporting pillar placed upside down as a deliberate error. Although the style is more Chinese than Japanese and some critics deride it as gaudy, it’s a grand spectacle.
To the left of Yōmei-mon is Jin-yōsha, the storage for the mikoshi (portable shrines) used during festivals.
Tōshō-gū’s Honden (Main Hall) and Haiden (Hall of Worship) are across the enclosure. Inside (open only to daimyō during the Edo period) are paintings of the 36 immortal poets of Kyoto, and a ceiling-painting pattern from the Momoyama period; note the 100 dragons, each different. Fusuma (sliding door) paintings depict a kirin (a mythical beast that’s part giraffe and part dragon). It’s said that it will appear only when the world is at peace.
Through Yōmei-mon and to the right is Nemuri-Neko, a small wooden sculpture of a sleeping cat that’s famous throughout Japan for its life-like appearance (though admittedly the attraction is lost on some visitors). From here, Sakashita-mon opens onto an uphill path through towering cedars to Ieyasu’s tomb, appropriately solemn. There’s a separate entry fee (¥520) to see the cat and the tomb.
FUTARASAN-JINJA
Shōdō Shōnin founded this shrine; the current building dates from 1619, making it Nikkō’s oldest. It’s the protector shrine of Nikkō itself, dedicated to the nearby mountain, Nantai-san (2484m), the mountain’s consort, Nyotai-san, and their mountainous progeny, Tarō. There are other shrine branches on Nantai-san and by Chūzenji-ko Click here.
TAIYŪIN-BYŌ
Enshrining Ieyasu’s grandson Iemitsu (1604–51) is Taiyūin-byō. Though it houses many of the same elements as Tōshō-gū (storehouses, drum tower,