The Taitoku-in Mausoleum (台徳院霊廟, Taitokuin Reibyō) was an Edo period mausoleum for Shōgun

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

. It was located within the grounds of

Zōjō-ji is a Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan. It is the main temple of the Jōdo-shū ("Pure Land") Chinzei sect of Buddhism in the Kantō region,. Its mountain name is San'en-zan (三縁山). Zōjō-ji is notable for its relationship wit ...

in Tokyo. The architecture of the mausoleum was sumptuous. It was largely destroyed in the aerial bombardments of World War II.

History

The mausoleum was constructed for Tokugawa Hidetada, who died in 1632. His

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

is Taitoku-in. The location was in the southern part of Zojo-ji. The main construction took around six months and was made largely with wood. The complex with its 15 structures was listed as a National Treasure in May 1930. The Tokyo air raids of May 1945 destroyed most of the structures. The ashes of the shōgun were reburied in 1958.

Architecture

The complex consisted of various gates leading into the inner sanctuary where two main buildings and a pagoda stood. Of these, only four buildings survived the war, with damages. Three of these structes were moved to Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture in the 1960. The So-mon gate was moved 45 metres to the east of the original location in 1959, to make space for a hotel. A large miniature model of the main two halls was commissioned by the city of Tokyo for the 1910

Japan–British Exhibition The took place at White City, London in Great Britain from 14 May 1910 to 29 October 1910. It was the largest international exposition that the Empire of Japan had ever participated in and was driven by a desire of Japan to develop a more favora ...

in London. It was given as a gift to King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

and was later displayed at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew then dismantled and stored in an obscure location along with other treasures of the Crown. It was restored largely due to the work of Australian Professor William Howard Coaldrake who was invested as a member of the Royal Victorian Order at the behest of Queen Elizabeth II for his work. The model was returned in 2015 to Japan to be shown at a special exhibition at the Zojo-ji temple in Tokyo.

History

Architecture

See also

References

Further reading