Taiyuin Temple

Taiyuin Temple is the resting place of Tokugawa Iemitsu, grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was Iemitsu who constructed much of what we saw in Nikko.

After walking up the stairs,

and past a set of guardians, we fought a large tour group past some pretty structures whose purpose I can't recall.

We encountered a second set of guardians. There are always two guardians, meant to ward off evil. One has his mouth closed and the other has his mouth open.

 

This signifies an Aaa sound at the beginning of the alphabet and an ummm sound at the end, representing the beginning and end of all things.

We finally got into the main temple building which, like so many interiors, did not allow photos. The path did take us around the building outside, though the rain obscured much of the bright details.