Pop Japan

Considered as one of the most influential public figures in the Japanese history, Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for over 250 years. Hence, it was only proper to establish a shrine to be his final sanctuary. He was deitified as Tosho Daigongen or the "Great Deity of the East Shining Light." The place was initially just a simple mausoleum for the beloved. In the first half of the 1600s, Iemitsu, Tokugawa's grand son, turned the mausoleum into the Toshogu Shrine for Ieyasu.

Photo by Tomi Makitalo. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

Tags: tokugawa ieyasu, tokugawa shogunate, japan, sanctuary, tosho daigongen, great deity of the east shining light, iemitsu tokugawa, Toshogu shrine