NEZU SHRINE

Description

Essentials about the Nezu Shrine in brief

Set in beautiful parkland with koi ponds and with a picturesque path framed by red torii gates, the Nezu Shrine is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places of worship in Tokyo. The Nezu Shrine is a 1,900-year-old Shintō shrine located in the neighborhood of the same name in the northern part of Tokyo’s Bunkyō district. Along with the Asakusa Shrine and the Tōshōgū, it is the third shrine in Tokyo to have “Important Cultural Heritage” status, and also one of the ten shrines known as the “Tōkyō-jissha” (“Ten Shrines of Tokyo”).

The history of the Nezu Shrine

The construction of the shrine is attributed to the legendary priest Yamato Takeru no Mikoto, who is said to have founded the shrine in Sendagi about 1,900 years ago in honor of the deity Susanoo. However, the structure still visible today dates back to the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, and is dated 1705. It was Tsunayoshi who moved the shrine from Sendagi to neighboring Nezu.

The architectural peculiarity of the Nezu shrine is that Honden (Main Hall), Haiden (Prayer Hall), Heiden (Sacrificial Hall), Karamon (Chinese Gate), Rōmon (Two-story Gate), and Sukibei (Transparent Wall) have been almost completely preserved and are among the oldest structures in Tokyo still preserved in their original form. They justify the status of the shrine as an important cultural heritage.

The complex of the Nezu Shrine

The shrine’s buildings were constructed in the Gongen architectural style favored during the Tokugawa shogunate. The Gate and Honden show clear Buddhist influences. Many decorations are typical of Buddhist temples. During the Edo period, Shintō and Buddhism were not yet strictly separated as in subsequent eras.

Behind the Rōmon on the right is the Kagura-den, a stage where ritual dances are performed during shrine festivals (matsuri). On the left is the rock Bungō ikoi no ishi (Resting Stone of the Poet Masters), where writers Natsume Sōseki and Mori Ōgai found inspiration for their novels and immortalized the shrine in their novels. Straight ahead is Karamon as the entrance to the courtyard enclosed by the Sukibei with the actual shrines. Several deities are worshipped here.

To the left of the courtyard is the spacious and beautiful shrine garden. At the beginning of the garden is the Otome-Inari Shrine, where the rice god Uga-no-mitama is worshipped. Typical of this type of shrine are the fox statues as servants of the god, as well as the red torii lined up here along both sides of the shrine. North of the Otome-Inari Shrine is another Inari shrine, the Komagome-Inari Shrine, where the primordial god couple Izanagi and Izanami, as well as the rice god Uga-no-mitama and the wind god couple Shinatobe and Shinatsuhiko are worshipped.

Celebrations in the Nezu Shrine

Several matsuri (shrine festivals) are held at the shrine. The most important is the Reisai, which is held annually on September 21. The matsuri is one of the three tenka matsuri (Imperial Festivals), which date back to Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. Another large and special matsuri is the “Azalea Festival,” which is held from April 9 to May 5 during the azalea bloom.