Taiyuuin Mausoleum

The Daiyu-In-Pyo Temple is located on the grounds of the Nikko Mountain Rin-No-Ji Shrine and it is here where the 3rd generation shogunate Iemitsu Tokugawa is enshrined. Daiyu-In is Iemitsu’s Buddhist name and the temple is also registered as a World Heritage Site. Because Iemitsu deeply respected his grandfather Ieyasu, he wrote in his will that he would “serve Ieyasu even after death."

The 4th generation Shogun Ietsuna carried out orders from that will to construct a mausoleum, or a Buddhist tomb that enshrines the dead. The building faces Tosho-Gu Shrine and it is believed that Iemitsu is respectfully watching over Ieyasu. Contrary to the Tosho-Gu Shrine, which was built with Shinto syncretism, or the architecture of "Gongen Zukuri," Taiyuuin Mausoleum was built on pure Buddhist principles of "Butsuden Zukuri." According to the commandments, Iemitsu’s tomb should not outshine that of his grandfather, so the scale of the building is smaller than that of the Nikko Tosho-Gu Shrine, which enshrines Ieyasu’s remains. While suppressing glamor for Buddhist austerity, the main hall, connecting rooms and the hall of worship are still listed as national treasures as buildings conceptualized in fine detail.