Kunōzan Tōshōgū Shrine

photo by baggio4ever · CC BY 3.0

photo by baggio4ever · CC BY 3.0

Ieyasu wanted to be buried here in 1616: this is the original Tōshōgū, 19 years before Nikkō.

The main shrine building (社殿), entirely lacquered and with polychrome decoration in the gongen-zukuri style, is a National Treasure. You go up by ropeway from Nihondaira, among the strawberry greenhouses on the hill, or on foot from the sea side, up 1,159 stone steps cut into the rock face. Within the grounds, the museum holds armour and objects that belonged to Ieyasu.

Built by the second Tokugawa shogun, Hidetada, straight after the death of his father Ieyasu in 1616, in keeping with Ieyasu's express wish to be buried here, before he was later deified and, a year later, also transferred to Nikkō, where the more famous Tōshōgū stands, built nineteen years later on the model of this one. Kunōzan therefore remains the first and the original of all the Tōshōgū shrines in Japan.

ℹ️ Open every day. The published hours and fees do not match: some sources give 9:00–17:00 from April to September and 9:00–16:00 from October to March, others 9:00–17:00 all year round. Prices vary too. Check the latest details on the official website before you set out.

🚉 久能山 · 1 min walk

Sources: toshogu.or.jp · toshogu.or.jp · jalan.net

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