Temple Tales

Temple Tales

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Temple Tales
Temple Tales
Ep. 018: The Shrine of the Shogun

Ep. 018: The Shrine of the Shogun

Tosho-gu in Ueno Park, Tokyo

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James Baquet
Mar 06, 2020
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Temple Tales
Temple Tales
Ep. 018: The Shrine of the Shogun
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Note: All photos are of Ueno Tosho-gu, and (except for the overview) were taken by yours truly between 1997 and 2006.

Let's visit a quiet corner hidden away in the very heart of Tokyo's version of "Central Park."

Western cultures tend to focus on a person's "final resting place." But in the east--as exemplified in Japan--one's remains may lie, or at least be venerated in their absence, in a variety of places. One such case is the earthly remnants of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Let's take a look at a few of the once-500, and today at least 130, places where his memory is honored.


Overview of Kanei-ji as it was; note shrine compound upper-left, five-story pagoda center-right, and lanterns along the paths (from a Tokyo Metropolitan Archives publication)

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