is a

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 , t ...

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

Taitō is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it is known as Taitō City. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 186,276, and a population density of 18,420 persons per km2. The total area is . Thi ...

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 ...

. First established in 1627 by

Tōdō Takatora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to Edo periods. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''daimyō''. Biography During his lifetime he changed his feudal m ...

and renovated in 1651 by

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 ...

, the shrine has remained mostly intact since that time, making it a great example of Shinto architecture in the

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 ...

. Several of those surviving structures have been designated Important Cultural Properties. ''

'' shrines are characterized by enshrining

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 fellow ...

with the name Tōshō Daigongen (東照大権現). ''Ueno Tōshō-gū'' also enshrines two other Tokugawa ''shōguns'',

Tokugawa Yoshimune was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lineage Yoshimune ...

and

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

. Located inside of Ueno Park, ''Ueno Tōshō-gū'' has become a popular attraction.

History

Ueno Tōshō-gū is said to have been built in 1627, by

. It is known that in 1627 it was dedicated to the memory of

(1542–1616), the founder and 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 Kamakur ...

'' 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 ...

, which effectively ruled Japan from the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

in 1600 until the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

in 1868. In 1651 the ''honden'' of the shrine was rebuilt in the gongen-zukuri style by

(1604–1651), grandson of Ieyasu and the third Tokugawa ''shōgun''. Until 1868, the shrine was part of the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

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 ...

temple

Kan'ei-ji (also spelled Kan'eiji or Kaneiji) is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1625 during the Kan'ei era by Tenkai, in an attempt to emulate the powerful religious center Enryaku-ji, in Kyoto. The main object of worship is .Nihon Re ...

. Unlike many of the buildings in the surrounding area, Ueno Tōshō-gū has remained intact throughout the numerous earthquakes, fires and wars, including the

Battle of Ueno The was a battle of the Boshin War, which occurred on July 4, 1868 (''Meiji 1, 15th day of the 5th month''), between the troops of the Shōgitai under Shibusawa Seiichirō and Amano Hachirō, and Imperial "Kangun" troops. Prelude Though the S ...

in 1868 and the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

in 1923.

(1684–1751) and

(1837–1913) are also enshrined in Ueno Tōshō-gū.

Architecture

Karamon

A is a type of

mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * An ...

Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors (''fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to ...

characterized by the use of , a type of curved

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

with a style peculiar to

. The ''karamon'' at ''Ueno Tōshō-gū'' was built in 1651, and it is designated an Important Cultural Property. File:Golden gate of Ueno Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine, Tokyo, Japan.jpg, front view of the ''karamon'' File:Ueno Tōshō-gū DSC02766.JPG, back view of the ''karamon'' File:Gate - Ueno Tōshō-gū - DSC02003.JPG, detail of the back of the ''karamon'' File:Ueno Toshogu 05.JPG, ''karamon'' in 2008, before restoration The pillars of the gate are decorated with two carved

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. They are known as and , and according to the legend, every night the two dragons go to the nearby

Shinobazu Pond The is a pond within Ueno Park (a spacious public park located in the Ueno section of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan), and a historically prominent Shitamachi feature often appearing in history and works of art. The park occupies the site of the former K ...

to drink from its water. There carvings are attributed to the perhaps fictiona artist .English information panel at Ueno Tōshō-gū ''Jingorō'' is also credited with some of the decoration at the famous

Nikkō Tōshō-gū is a Tōshō-gū Shinto shrine located in Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Together with Futarasan Shrine and Rinnō-ji, it forms the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō UNESCO World Heritage Site, with 42 structures of the shrine included in the n ...

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 ...

Tochigi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi). Tochigi ...

. In addition to the gold foil, there are several hand carved decorations, including flowers, birds and dragons on both sides of the gates. It is said that the carvings on the gate and on the wall depict a total of over two hundred species of plants and animals. File:Toshogu Shrine - Karamon (Chinese-style gate) 02 (15567616950).jpg, detail of one of the dragon carvings File:Ueno Tōshō-gū DSC02761.JPG, detail of bird carvings File:Ueno Tōshō-gū DSC02765.JPG, detail of dragons on one of the back pillars File:Wongwt 上野東照宮 (16663971763).jpg, dragon carving on the back

Honden

The main building of the shrine is a in the '' Gongen-zukuri'' 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 building dates from 1651, and it is designated an Important Cultural Property. File:Wongwt 上野東照宮 (17098019409).jpg, front view of the ''haiden'' File:Shrine - Ueno Tōshō-gū - DSC02019.JPG, detail of the ''haiden'' File:Shrine - Ueno Tōshō-gū - DSC01981.JPG, side view of the ''haiden'' and ''heiden'' File:Shrine - Ueno Tōshō-gū - DSC01979.JPG, side view of the ''honden''

Access

There is no admission fee for visitors to enter most of the shrine precincts, but there is a fee (, 500

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

) in order to go beyond the karamon. This allows you see the back of the ''karamon'' and to get closer to the ''honden'', but the hall itself remains closed. There is an extra admission fee (, 700

) to enter the peony garden. The shrines opens at 9 am and closes at 4:30 pm (from October to February) or 5:30 pm (from March to September). The peony garden is open from January 1st to mid-February, and from mid-April to mid-May. ''Ueno Tōshō-gū'' can be accessed via the following public transport options: * Shinkansen-E

Ueno Station is a major railway station in Tokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park—which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo University of the Arts and other fam ...

Keisei Ueno Station is a railway station in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway. It is the terminus of the Keisei Main Line and is a short distance from JR Ueno Station. Layout The station is underground beneath ...

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 ...

References

External links

Ueno Tōshō-gū Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ueno Tosho-gu 1627 establishments in Japan Shinto shrines in Tokyo Buildings and structures in Taitō Ueno Park Important Cultural Properties of Japan Religious buildings and structures completed in 1651 Tōshō-gū