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==Layout==
==Layout==
[[File:Nikko-monkeys.jpg|right|thumb|400px|The "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" monkeys carved by [[Hidari Jingoro|Hidari Jingorô]]]]
One of the most famous sights within the Tôshôgû complex is the Yômeimon, a large ''karamon'' ("Chinese gate") loaded with intricately detailed carving and decorative elaboration. Named after one of the gates to the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]], the Yômeimon includes over 500 relief depictions of animals and people, including ones of elephants, giraffes, and other creatures about which knowledge was surely second or third-hand. Paintings of dragons by [[Kano Tanyu|Kanô Tan'yû]] are located inside the gateway. Along with the Yômeimon, five other structures including the ''honden'' (main hall) and ''haiden'' (worship hall) have been designated as [[National Treasures]]. Another thirty structures on the grounds have been designated [[Important Cultural Properties]].
One of the most famous sights within the Tôshôgû complex is the Yômeimon, a large ''karamon'' ("Chinese gate") loaded with intricately detailed carving and decorative elaboration. Named after one of the gates to the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]], the Yômeimon includes over 500 relief depictions of animals and people, including ones of elephants, giraffes, and other creatures about which knowledge was surely second or third-hand. Paintings of dragons by [[Kano Tanyu|Kanô Tan'yû]] are located inside the gateway. Along with the Yômeimon, five other structures including the ''honden'' (main hall) and ''haiden'' (worship hall) have been designated as [[National Treasures]]. Another thirty structures on the grounds have been designated [[Important Cultural Properties]].
==History==
==History==
[[File:Nikko-okariden.jpg|right|thumb|400px|The Okariden]]
[[File:Nikko-okariden.jpg|right|thumb|400px|The Okariden]]
[[File:Ieyasu-grave.jpg|right|thumb|400px|''Hôtô'' pagoda marking the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, in the Inner Shrine (''okusha'').]]
[[File:Nikko-iron-lanterns.jpg|right|thumb|400px|A pair of iron lanterns donated to the shrine by [[Date Masamune]]]]
The site was chosen by Tokugawa Ieyasu himself for this purpose, i.e., namely, the location of a mausoleum and shrine to him as a deified protector of the country. As Nikkô is located directly north of the Tokugawa capital of [[Edo]], some have suggested that the site was chosen as part of a discourse connecting Tôshô-daigongen (the deified Ieyasu) with the North Star, as a protective deity.<ref>Maehira Fusaaki, "''Edo bakufu to Ryûkyû shisetsu - Tôshôgû sankei wo chûshin ni''" 江戸幕府と琉球使節～東照宮参詣を中心に, in ''Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!'', Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 67.</ref>
The site was chosen by Tokugawa Ieyasu himself for this purpose, i.e., namely, the location of a mausoleum and shrine to him as a deified protector of the country. As Nikkô is located directly north of the Tokugawa capital of [[Edo]], some have suggested that the site was chosen as part of a discourse connecting Tôshô-daigongen (the deified Ieyasu) with the North Star, as a protective deity.<ref>Maehira Fusaaki, "''Edo bakufu to Ryûkyû shisetsu - Tôshôgû sankei wo chûshin ni''" 江戸幕府と琉球使節～東照宮参詣を中心に, in ''Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!'', Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 67.</ref>