Sakashitamon Gate 坂下門, Toshogu Shrine 東照宮, Nikko, 日光, Tochigi 栃木県, Japan
Excerpt from the plaque:
Sakashitamon Gate 坂下門
Sakashitamon is the first gate to Toshogu’s inner shrine, where the mausoleum of the first Tokugawa shogun, Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), is located. From when it was built in 1636 until the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), only the shogun and his family could pass through this gate and pray at the inner shrine.
All the gate’s decorations have meaning. On the lintel are chrysanthemums, auspicious flowers associated with longevity. Above the lintel are intricately carved and painted cranes. According to Japanese mythology, cranes are thought to live for a thousand years.
Sakashitamon Gate 坂下門, Toshogu Shrine 東照宮, Nikko, 日光, Tochigi 栃木県, Japan
Excerpt from the plaque:
Sakashitamon Gate 坂下門
Sakashitamon is the first gate to Toshogu’s inner shrine, where the mausoleum of the first Tokugawa shogun, Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), is located. From when it was built in 1636 until the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), only the shogun and his family could pass through this gate and pray at the inner shrine.
All the gate’s decorations have meaning. On the lintel are chrysanthemums, auspicious flowers associated with longevity. Above the lintel are intricately carved and painted cranes. According to Japanese mythology, cranes are thought to live for a thousand years.