NIKKO TOSHOGU

The mausoleum at Nikko ofTokugawa, Ieyasu, the first Tokugawashogun, renowned for the beauty of the shrine and its setting. It was built in richly decorativegongen­zukuristyle by the Tendai Buddhist monk Tenkai who successfully wrested the authority to enshrine the shogun away from theYoshidaand constructed the shrine in line withSanno ichijitsu shintoideas. The main festival is the sennin-gyoretsu(thousand-person procession), a Tokugawa-period costume pageant on May 17-18th. There is a smallermikoshiprocession with 500 participants on October 17th.