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  3. TRAVEL 2013
  4. JUNE, 2013: NIKKO, JAPAN

NIKKO I

Kekko means "I am content that I have seen the beauty the world has to offer." There is a Japanese saying: "Never say kekko until you've seen Nikko." Here is the first installment from my recent trip to Nikko. I hope you enjoy!
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Japanese tourist students on the other side of the Sacred Fence. Again, no glass here. This effect is entirely from the cutout pattern. Isn't it cool?!
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Japanese tourist students on the other side of the Sacred Fence. Again, no glass here. This effect is entirely from the cutout pattern. Isn't it cool?!

abftouristchildrensacredwall

  • There was another gate after the Sacred Fountain which was covered over and undergoing renovation. Now, back behind IT is this third gate, the Yasha-mon Gate. This is a 13-photo panorama of the approach to the Yasha-mon Gate.
  • I had read that fairly early morning was the best time to get out and see all this. T'is true: The Nikko area is a very popular day trip for Tokyo folks. They start showing up about mid-morning, and the character of the place changes considerably.
  • Yasha-mon Gate. The pillars are supposed to look like grains of sesame. The figures enshrined here are referred to as "The Four Demons" (There are 2 you see here in the front, and 2 behind them in the back).
  • Dragons looking down from the eves.
  • One of The Four Demons. Notice the gilded peonies. The Yasha-mon Gate is also called the Peony Gate.
  • From "behind" the Peony Gate. Obvious school field trips are now arriving. You'll see the white demon to your right again later.
  • Here is the main building of the Taiyuin Mausoleum. This was built as the final resting place of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the THIRD Tokugawa Shogun, in 1653. Now, prior to his death, Iemitsu was responsible for building the even larger and more lavish shrine which we will visit after leaving this one: Toshogu Shrine -- honoring Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) who, it's my understanding, was the shogun who basically first subdued pretty much all of Japan and ushered in the Edo Period. (Iemitsu was Ieyasu's grandson)
  • 21-photo panorama of Rin-no-ji Taiyuin Mausoleum. Notice the surrounding wall (which you can see extending toward the Mausoleum from your right). This is considered to be a Sacred Fence. Notice the little carvings just under the eves of the Sacred Fence?
  • One of the many carved panels of the Sacred Fence. There are reportedly 100 different kinds of dove included in the fence.
  • This is just outside the Sacred Fence (the Mausoleum is on the other side). As you can see, the carvings are on both sides. They extend the length of the fence. The oval panels beneath the carvings, at first, appear to have frosted glass. In actuality, however, each little square hole has a wooden cut-out pattern and no glass at all.
  • Untitled photo
  • Japanese tourist students on the other side of the Sacred Fence. Again, no glass here. This effect is entirely from the cutout pattern. Isn't it cool?!
  • Heading back toward the Peony Gate.
  • Peony Gate Demon.
  • These demons are so cute they can give one nightmares!
  • Between the Taiyuin Mausoleum / shrine grounds and Toshogu Shrine. As mentioned before, Toshogu is much larger and more opulent than is Taiyuin. Click below to go there:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.optimimagery.com/THIS-IS-ME-Vacations-around-Sa/TRAVEL2013/JUNE-2013-NIKKO-JAPAN/NIKKO-II/">http://www.optimimagery.com/THIS-IS-ME-Vacations-around-Sa/TRAVEL2013/JUNE-2013-NIKKO-JAPAN/NIKKO-II/</a>

  • BeverLi

    on June 18, 2013

    wow~ that is SO cool....have never seen anything like it!

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