See no evil shogun
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They were ferocious, especially when mounted on horseback. To truly understand the expression, “See no evil hear no evil speak no evil,” you have to go to Nikko and learn some facts about samurai life. So, too, were carvings of animals, like the three wise monkeys. Although Ieyasu lived from 1542 to 1616, at Toshogu Temple, he seemed to still be alive. The last of three warlords who unified Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu was the very same character that novelist James Clavell wrote about in his book, Shogun. Toshogu shrine, as mentioned, was a memorial to this famous man. They also built the Youmeimon gate (shown at left). A great warrior and leader, Tokugawa Ieyasu gathered builders and craftsmen from all over Japan to build his mausoleum at Toshogu. They were marked with the Japanese kanji character for samurai (right). We saw Ieyasu’s armor and swords as well as everyday household objects in the Nikko temple collections. This festival features horseback-mounted samurai wearing bright red garb riding at the head of a procession of armor-clad marchers, in which Tokugawa Ieyasu’s remains are carried in a sacred palaquin. In modern times, the Toshogu shrine hosts the affluent “procession of a thousand samurai” every October 17th. Trade prospered, however, and the ruling Tokugawa family (whose crest is at left) dominated Japan’s economy. Nikko’s mountains are often cold and wet, and the frozen roads of the 17th century had to have been dangerous. In our modern times, it is tough to imagine how Japan’s great warriors lived.
See no evil shogun series#
Hands now warmed by the hot tea cups, we climbed up to a series of surprisingly ancient temples. We were astonished to see, in addition to sake, stacked barrels of aging whiskey in the Futarasan shrine.
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These colorful sake barrels (left) were wrapped in plastic and stacked for aging are near the Roumon gate of Nikko’s Futarasan Shrine. Being practical, the sake brewers held two festivals a year one was to pray for a good crop, and the second rewarded an abundant spring rice crop. Each April 13th, Nikko throws a 4-day festival called Yayoi Matsuri, the park guide said, when the town residents have a parade of decorated floats, and sake is ladled out of the barrels and put in square wooden cups for all. While we wanted rice wine, we arrived too early in the year for the sake festival. While we explored, a park attendant offered hot buncha tea to ward off the chill. Nikko, but fall and spring are considered the best times for photography. We went in winter, when the mists settle on Mt. Cameras were allowed most places, with signs posted where they were prohibited. Nikko’s humidity was hard on electronics we carried all equipment in Ziploc bags with moisture absorbing pads. We took just a few selected lenses, and left the tripod behind because of the steep steps up the mountainside temple complex. In English, the phrase is “Don’t say Magnificent until you see Nikko.” Because of its history, sacred mountains, and unmatched views through its torii gates, Nikko became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.įrom Tokyo, we arrived on the Tobu-Nikko train line. Seeing Nikko’s treasures, it was easy to understand it. Nikko rests right in the mountains, about 100 miles north of Tokyo, nestled serenely in a forest of centuries-old cedar trees. We gazed in awe at the two fierce guardians of the Youmeimon gate. Guardians were placed outside temples to frighten away evil-doers. Its fierce expression was meant to terrify. There was plenty to see elsewhere in the shrine and temple complex, such as the gate guardian (at right). We had come to photograph the Toshogu Shrine, because five of its buildings were national treasures: Youmeimon gate, Karamon, the large bronze Torii gate, the Five Story Pagoda, and the Three Wise Monkeys. (“Doh” meant “hall,” and “Sanbutsu” meant “three Buddhas,” we learned.) Since the figures were sacred, we shivered respectfully, and tucked our cameras away.
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A priest named Jikaku had built the Sanbutsu-doh. These three Buddha figures were themselves sacred representatives of three local mountain peaks that had been worshiped for over two thousand years. Why were these particular Buddhas off-limits? Their temple housed a sacred mausoleum to Tokugawa Ieyasu and contained an inner hall open only to priests. Looking up, we saw the three 16-foot high wooden Buddhas that could not be photographed. As our sock-clad feet slid easily across the polished wooden floor of the outer hall, we smelled an ancient combination of incense, mildew, and lacquer. We left our shoes at the door, next to rocks covered by moss and ferns. A sign outside the shrine read, “No pictures of the Buddha, please.” Okay, I thought, at least it will be warm inside.Fingers chilled by the freezing January mountain air just after an overcast, humid dawn, we walked up the gentle road to the quiet temple.