is a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

located in the

Bunkyō is a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived th ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Established in 1705, it is one of the oldest places of worship in the city, and several of the buildings on the shrine grounds have been designated as Important Cultural Property. It was built in the

Ishi-no-ma-zukuri , also called , and , is a complex Shinto shrine structure in which the ''haiden'', or worship hall, and the '' honden'', or main sanctuary, are interconnected under the same roof in the shape of an H.Encyclopedia of Shinto''Gongen-zukuri''acce ...

style of Shinto architecture, following the Tōshō-gū shrine in

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

. It is famous for its

Azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

Festival (Tsutsuji Matsuri) which is held on its grounds from early April until early May, and it has been described as "

’s most beautiful shrine" and as one of the city's "most spectacular spring scenes". It is one of the .

History

According to the legend, the Nezu shrine was founded in Sendagi, just north of the current location, in the 1st century by

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese semi-legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. His name written in kanji can vary, in the '' Nihon Shoki'' it is spelled 日本武尊 ...

(also known as Prince Ōsu), the son of

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

. The chief deity of the shrine was

Susanoo-no-Mikoto __FORCETOC__ Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory charac ...

, the

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

of the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

and

storms A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

. In 1705 the shrine was relocated to Nezu by

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...

(1646–1709), the fifth ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, on the occasion of him choosing his successor,

Tokugawa Ienobu (June 11, 1662 – November 12, 1712) was the sixth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemi ...

(1662–1712). In turn,

Ienobu (June 11, 1662 – November 12, 1712) was the sixth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iem ...

chose it as the guardian deity. Nothing is left from the structures prior to the relocation, but it still is one of the oldest shrines in the city. When

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

moved his residence from the

Kyoto Imperial Palace The is the former palace of the Emperor of Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration in 1869, the Emperors have resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered in 1877. Today, the grounds are open t ...

to the Imperial Palace in

in 1868-1869, he sent envoys to the shrine to have it intercede with the gods on his behalf.

Architecture

Torii

There is a multitude of surrounding Nezu Shrine. The two main entrances are marked by big red ''torii'' in the ''myōjin'' style, very common in Shinto architecture, characterized by curved upper lintels. A plaque on top of them reads ''根津神社'', the name of the shrine. They are flanked by lanterns. One of the most famous features of the shrine is the path of vermilion torii through the hillside left of the main hall. In the middle of the path there is a viewing platform over a pond of

koi or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' ke ...

, overlooking the main shrine precincts. The subsidiary Otome Inari Shrine is located here. Another shorter path of torii leads down some stairs from the subsidiary Komagome Shrine to the larger path of torii. File:Nezu jinja - Torii 1.jpg, red ''myōjin torii'' at one of the entrances File:Nezu jinja - Torii 4.jpg, a stone ''myōjin torii'' File:Nezu jinja - Torii 3.jpg, entrance to the path of ''torii'' File:Nezu jinja - Torii 2.jpg, a shorter ''torii'' path

Rōmon

A two-storied is a type of mon characterized by an inaccessible upper floor. Originally an element of

Buddhist architecture Buddhist religious architecture developed in the Indian subcontinent. Three types of structures are associated with the religious architecture of early Buddhism: monasteries ( viharas), places to venerate relics (stupas), and shrines or prayer ha ...

, this type of mon is also commonly found in

s. The one at Nezu shrine is located between the ''honden'' and a little bridge, which makes it a popular attraction of the shrine. A placque on top of the gate reads . It is guarded by two zuishin, statues of

warrior-guardians depicted holding bows and arrows. It was built in 1706, and it is designated an Important Cultural Property. File:Nezu jinja - Romon 2.jpg, front view of the ''rōmon'' File:Nezu jinja - Romon 3.jpg, placque with the name of the shrine File:Nezu jinja - Romon 1.jpg, detail of one side of the ''rōmon'' File:Nezu jinja - Romon 5.jpg, one of the two '' zuishin'' statue

Honden

The main building of Nezu shrine is a in the ''

'' style, a complex

structure in which the ''

haiden Haiden may refer to: *A Gewürztraminer wine * Haiden (Shinto), the hall of worship of a Shinto shrine See also * Heiden (disambiguation) {{disambig ...

'', or worship hall, the '' heiden'', or offertory hall, and the ''honden'', are all interconnected under the same roof. The whole structure dates from 1706. All three parts of the building (''honden'', ''haiden'' and ''heiden'') are separately designated as an Important Cultural Property. File:Nezu jinja - Honden 12.jpg, front view of the ''honden'' File:Nezu jinja - Honden 4.jpg, detail of the ''honden'' File:Nezu jinja - Honden 11.jpg, interior of the ''honden'' and ''haiden'' File:Nezu jinja - Honden 1.jpg, the ''honden'' seen from the viewing platform

Karamon and Sukibei walls

A is a type of ''mon'' found in

Japanese castle are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such ...

Buddhist temples A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represent ...

and

s. Connected to it in this case there is a , a 200 meter wall surrounding the ''honden''. A similar combination of ''karamon'' and ''Sukibei'' can be seen at the

Ueno Tōshō-gū is a Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine located in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. First established in 1627 by Tōdō Takatora and renovated in 1651 by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the shrine has remained mostly intact since that time, making it a great example ...

, another

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

closely associated to the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. Both structures were built in 1706, and both of them are designated as Important Cultural Properties. File:Nezu jinja - Karamon 2.jpg, front view of the ''karamon'' File:Nezu jinja - Sukibei 2.jpg, the ''Sukibei'' senn from the outside File:Nezu jinja - Sukibei 4.jpg, the ''Sukibei'' senn from the inside File:Nezu jinja - Sukibei 6.jpg, ''honden'' seen through the ''Sukibei'' File:Nezu-jinja-4.jpg,

Mikoshi A is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when ...

File:AzaleaFestivalNezuJinja.jpg,

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

Access

There is no admission fee for visitors to enter the shrine precincts. The entrances are at a 5 minute walk from

Nezu Station Nezu Station (根津駅 ''Nezu-eki'') is a metro station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line located in Bunkyo, Tokyo. Station layout The station is reached by stairways from the street to the ticket wickets. The station consists of two side platfor ...

on the Chiyoda Line (9 minute from

Sendagi Station is an underground railway station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. Lines Sendagi Station is served by the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, and is numbered C-15. Station layout The station consists of ...

in the same line) and at a 6 minute walk from Todaimae Station on the Namboku Line.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Shinto shrines in Tokyo Buildings and structures in Bunkyō Important Cultural Properties of Japan