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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>

Following his death, Ieyasu was first enshrined at [[Kunozan Toshogu Shrine|Kunôzan Tôshôgû]], and then less than a year later his body and spirit were relocated to a shrine at Nikkô, as a result of efforts by the Buddhist priest & shogunal advisor [[Tenkai]]. Tenkai also established another Tôshôgû within his [[Tendai]] school that same year ([[1617]]), and the shogunate established yet another, within the grounds of [[Edo castle]], the following year. Further Tôshôgû shrines were established at [[Owari han|Nagoya]] in [[1619]] and [[Mito han|Mito]] and [[Wakayama han|Kishû]] in [[1621]]. Many other ''daimyô'' and major Buddhist temples followed suit.<ref>Morgan Pitelka, ''Spectacular Accumulation'', University of Hawaii Press (2016), 147.</ref>

Prior to his death, Ieyasu instructed the Buddhist priest [[Tenkai]], one of his close advisors, that he wished for his body to be interred at [[Kunozan Toshogu Shrine|Kunôzan]] near [[Sunpu castle|Sunpu]], his funeral to be held at [[Zojo-ji|Zôjô-ji]] temple in Edo, and his memorial tablets (''ihai'') to go to [[Daiju-ji]] temple in [[Okazaki]], and after the one-year anniversary of his death, for a small shrine or hall to be erected at Nikkô.<ref>Plaques on-site at Rinnô-ji, Nikkô.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/54287904476/sizes/4k/]</ref> Ieyasu died on [[1616]]/4/17, and though some of these wishes were honored, in the end Tenkai managed to effect his own agendas.

 

Ieyasu was first enshrined at Kunôzan Tôshôgû, but less than a year later his body and spirit were relocated to a shrine at Nikkô, as a result of Tenkai's efforts. Tenkai also established another Tôshôgû within his [[Tendai]] school that same year ([[1617]]), and the shogunate established yet another, within the grounds of [[Edo castle]], the following year. Further Tôshôgû shrines were established at [[Owari han|Nagoya]] in [[1619]] and [[Mito han|Mito]] and [[Wakayama han|Kishû]] in [[1621]]. Many other ''daimyô'' and major Buddhist temples followed suit.<ref>Morgan Pitelka, ''Spectacular Accumulation'', University of Hawaii Press (2016), 147.</ref>

Construction at Nikkô on a fuller, grander, shrine began in [[1634]] under the third Tokugawa shogun, [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]]. This project cost, in the end, some 568,000 [[currency|gold ''ryô'']], 100 ''kanme'' of silver, and 1,000 ''[[koku]]'' of rice; by some estimates, this amounted to roughly 1/5th of Iemitsu's total inheritance from his father.<ref>Adam Clulow, ''The Company and the Shogun'', Columbia University Press (2014), 250.</ref> The new structures were among the most ornate in the entire realm, and are decorated with 644 images of animals, 950 of birds, and 1,423 of plants. The expansion project was completed in roughly two years, in time for mourning ceremonies for the 20th anniversary of Ieyasu's death, held on [[1636]]/4/17.<ref>Pitelka, 149.</ref>

Construction at Nikkô on a fuller, grander, shrine began in [[1634]] under the third Tokugawa shogun, [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]]. This project cost, in the end, some 568,000 [[currency|gold ''ryô'']], 100 ''kanme'' of silver, and 1,000 ''[[koku]]'' of rice; by some estimates, this amounted to roughly 1/5th of Iemitsu's total inheritance from his father.<ref>Adam Clulow, ''The Company and the Shogun'', Columbia University Press (2014), 250.</ref> The new structures were among the most ornate in the entire realm, and are decorated with 644 images of animals, 950 of birds, and 1,423 of plants. The expansion project was completed in roughly two years, in time for mourning ceremonies for the 20th anniversary of Ieyasu's death, held on [[1636]]/4/17.<ref>Pitelka, 149.</ref>