As I mentioned in the Zojoji Temple (Part 1) post, the intensive air raid during World War Two burned down most of the temple’s structure and housing, as well as two mausoleums of the Tokugawa Shoguns on the south and north sides, which became ruins, except for some gates. The graves of the Shoguns and their wives were left devasted until 1961, when academics started research on them. After the excavation study, all buried bodies were cremated, and their ashes were placed in the tombs in the new mausoleum behind the main hall.
I visited the mausoleum with a 500-yen admission fee. I wondered if it would be worth the 500 yen to see the inside, but once I stepped into it, I was greeted by a calm and sacred atmosphere that made me feel free from the stress and business of central Tokyo.
The mausoleum accommodates six tombs of the Shoguns: the second, sixth, seventh, ninth, twelfth, and fourteenth. Imperial Princess Kazunomiya also sleeps in her tomb beside her husband, the 14th Shogun, Iemochi.
There are two types of tombs: bronze tombs and stone ones. Until the 6th shogun, the Tokugawa government’s financial status was stable, so they could afford to build tombs using bronze, which was pretty expensive then. However, it got worse afterward, and the government officials got their hands on tight financial management, which only allowed their shoguns to build tombs using stone, a much cheaper material. Look at the following two photos: the upper is the 6th shogun, Ienobu’s bronze tomb, and the lower is the 7th shogun, Ietsugu’s stone tomb. It is interesting that we can learn the financial history of the samurai society from their tomb’s materials.
Access
1) 10-minute walk from Hamamatsucho Station on JR Line or Tokyo Monorail
2) 3-minute walk from Onarimon Station or Shiba Koen on Mita Line
3) 5-minute walk from Daimon Station on Asakusa Line or Oedo Line
4) 7-minute walk from Akabanebashi Station on Oedo Line
5) 10-minute walk from Kamiyacho Station on Hibiya Line
Map
Please refer to the following link to the location on Google Maps.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/261TUnxsfNtLpofT6
Address
4-7-35 Shibakoen Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0011 Japan
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