Page 270 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide: Japan

268  JAP AN REGION B Y REGION

1 Nikko

Nikko
Over 1,200 years ago, the formidable Buddhist priest Shodo
Shonin, on his way to Mount Nantai, crossed the Daiya River
and founded the first temple at Nikko. Centuries later, Nikko
was a renowned Buddhist-Shinto religious center, and the
warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu (see p271) chose it for the site of his
mausoleum. When his grandson Iemitsu had Ieyasu’s shrine-
mausoleum – Tosho-gu – built in 1634, he wanted to impress
upon any rivals the wealth and might of the Tokugawa clan.
Since then, Nikko, written with characters that mean sunlight,
has become a Japanese byword for splendor.
Bato Kannon, with a horse on the
headdress, at Rinno-ji Temple
Nikko Sights Takinoo Shrine
Taiyuin- the street. An architectural treat
Nikko National byo Shrine
Park Futara- is the vener able 19th-century
Hokke-do Nikko Kanaya Hotel (see p307),
Nikko san Shrine
Botanical situated on a rise to the left, just
Gardens Jogyo-do before the Daiya River.
Tosho-gu
Shrine
Tosho-gu Shinkyo Bridge
Kanman-ga- Treasure Hall Tosho-gu Open daily.
Fuchi Abyss Museum This red-lacquered wooden
Rinno-ji of Art bridge, just to the left of the road
Temple Urushi bridge, arches over the Daiya
Daiya River
Museum River where, legend has it, Shodo
Shonin crossed the river on the
backs of two huge serpents.
Route 120
Shinkyo Bridge • Route 119 The original, built in 1636 for
0 meters 250 Nikko Kanaya Hotel • the exclusive use of the shogun
Nikko Town and
0 yards 250 Stations and imperial messengers, was
destroyed by flood. The current
bridge dates from 1907.
Exploring Nikko Town run from here. The 1-km (about
Of the two stations in Nikko, the half-a-mile) long avenue from  Rinno-ji Temple
JR station, the oldest in eastern the train stations to the Tosho- Open daily; the garden and museum
Japan, is a classic. It was built in gu precincts is lined with shops, may be closed for special events or
1915 (contrary to popular restaurants, and inns. A good renovation. &
misconception, it was not shop for Nikko wood carvings The first temple founded at Nikko,
designed by Frank Lloyd Wright). and geta (wooden sandals) is by Shodo Shonin in 766, this was
Buses to many of Nikko’s sights Tezuka, on the left halfway up originally called Shihonryu-ji.
When it became a Tendai-sect
temple in the 17th century, it was
renamed Rinno-ji. Its Sanbutsu-do
(Three Buddha Hall) is the largest
hall at Nikko. It is undergoing
major renovations until 2019,
but remains open. The three gilt
images, of Amida Buddha, Senju
(thousand-armed) Kannon, and
Bato (horse-headed) Kannon,
enshrined in the hall correspond
to the three mountain deities
enshrined at Futara-san Shrine.
Beyond the hall, the nine-ringed
bronze pillar, Sorinto, contains
1,000 volumes of sutras (Buddhist
scriptures) and is a symbol of
world peace. The Treasure Hall
The Shinkyo Bridge spanning the Daiya River (Homotsuden) has a large and
For keys to symbols see back flap
268-269_EW_Japan.indd 268 08/08/16 3:08 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm