Matsudaira Tōshō-gū

In detail

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) and Matsudaira Chikauji (d. 1394?) are enshrined at the Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine complex. Ieyasu was the ninth head of the Matsudaira family and founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. His ancestor, Chikauji, was the first head of the family. The shrine is officially called Hachiman Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine, and Hachiman, the guardian deity of the Matsudaira and the warrior class, is also enshrined on the grounds.

Matsudaira Toshogu is one of the more than 100 Toshogu shrines in Japan. The first such sanctuary was Kunozan Toshogu on Mt. Kuno in Shizuoka Prefecture, where Ieyasu was originally buried. Most Toshogu sanctuaries enshrine only Ieyasu, but Matsudaira Toshogu also honors Chikauji to emphasize the origins of the Matsudaira-Tokugawa family line.

The shrine stands on the site of the former Matsudaira estate, where descendants of the family lived well into the twentieth century. A Toshogu shrine was first established there in 1619 alongside an older shrine dedicated to Hachiman. The Hachiman shrine is now located in the northeastern corner of the complex, whereas the Toshogu shrine was rebuilt on its present site in 1931 after the Matsudaira estate was dismantled. The main shrine building was renovated in 2015 to mark 400 years since Ieyasu’s death. The ceiling in the worship hall (haiden) is decorated with 108 images of local flowers and other plants painted by the Toyota-based lacquer artist Ando Noriyoshi (b. 1947).