The mausoleum of shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, darker and more mystical than the Toshogu, with five ceremonial gates climbing the hillside; entry 550 ¥.
The Taiyuin-byo is the mausoleum of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651), the same ruler who ordered the Toshogu built for his grandfather Ieyasu. Iemitsu decreed that his own mausoleum should be less showy than Ieyasu's — as a mark of deference to his ancestor — yet the result is still a sequence of five ceremonial lacquered wooden gates climbing the mountainside among centuries-old cedars: the Niomon, the Niten-mon, the Yasha-mon, the Karamon and finally the golden gate of the inner shrine. The atmosphere is darker, more sombre and more mystical than the Toshogu: the cedars are hundreds of years old and the slope makes each gate appear to emerge from the gloom of the forest. The decoration is more restrained than at the Toshogu, with a more elegant use of black and gold over dark vermilion. Entry costs 550 ¥. The Taiyuin is included in the Nikko Combined Pass (2.100 ¥, covering Toshogu + Rinnoji + Taiyuin + Futarasan shrine). Hours: 9:00-17:00. It is a 10-minute walk from the Toshogu.
