Nikkō National Park
By Cathy Cawood
The very first man who went beyond the violent stream of the Daiya River in Nikko and made a successful ascent of Mt. Nantai (2486m) was Priest Shodo. In 767 he built a small temple in Nikko and established a foothold of religious austerities in the mountain.
In 1616, the great Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, died in Shizuoka and was buried in Nikko the following year. From his grave in Nikko, Ieyasu protected the capital city of Edo (modern day Tokyo).
In 1636, Ieyasu’s grandson, Iemitsu (the third Shogun), reconstructed Tosho-gu Shrine on an even larger scale. It consists of many gorgeous buildings and countless numbers of beautiful carvings. Iemitsu died in Edo Castle in 1651 and was buried in Nikko to serve Ieyasu after his death. In 1653, the brilliant buildings of Taiyu-in were built as a mausoleum for Iemitsu.
