is a
Shinto shrine in
Okazaki, Aichi
is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 386,999 in 164,087 households, and a population density of 999 persons per km². The total area of the city was .
Geography
Okazaki is in the coastal plains o ...
Prefecture, Japan. It enshrines the first
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 Kamak ...
of 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 ...
,
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...
.
History
In 1644, Shōgun
Tokugawa Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川 家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...
ordered the construction of a shrine to his deified grandfather, Tokugawa Ieyasu, near the location of his birthplace at
Okazaki Castle
is a Japanese castle located in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Okazaki Castle was home to the Honda clan, ''daimyō'' of Okazaki Domain, but the castle is better known for its association with Tokugawa Ieyasu an ...
.
Sakai Tadakatsu
was a Sengoku period Japanese samurai, and early Edo period ''daimyō'' and served in several important positions within the administration of the Tokugawa shogunate. Papinot, Edmund. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'' Sakai. pp. 50–51
Biography
Ta ...
and Matsudaira Masatsuna were assigned the task, which was completed on September 17, 1646. In 1917, it was merged with a nearby Hakusan and a Hiyoshi Jinja and was renamed "Tokiwa Jinja" (常磐神社). It received the rank of a village shrine (村社) under the
State Shinto system's
Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines
The was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into
#Imperial shrines (''kampei ...
.
In 1953, the ''
Honden'',
''
Heiden'',
Torii
A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.
The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simple ...
,
Middle Gate
and
Ablution font of the shrine were designed
Important Cultural Properties. The shrine also possesses two ''
tachi
A is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and ''katana'' generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on t ...
''
Japanese sword
A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794 – 1185) to ...
s which are designated as Important Cultural Properties. One was a donation by Tokugawa Iemitsu and the other by
Tokugawa Ietsuna
was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He is considered the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, which makes him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
E ...
.
In 1954, the shrine was renamed Takisan Tōshō-gū.
The shrine is approximately 15 minutes on foot from
Higashi Okazaki Station.
See also
*
Tōshō-gū
is any Shinto shrine in which Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) is enshrined.
Ieyasu was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868), which is the third and last of the shogunal governments in Japanese history. He was deified with the name , ...
*
List of Tōshō-gū
A Tōshō-gū (東照宮) is any Shinto shrine in which Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined with the name Tōshō Daigongen (東照大権現). This list may never be complete given the widespread veneration of Tōshō Daigongen.
* Dewa Sanzan Tōshō-g ...
References
External links
Official home page
1646 establishments in Japan
Shinto shrines in Aichi Prefecture
Tōshō-gū
Okazaki, Aichi
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1646
{{Shinto-stub