The Beauties of Nikkô—The Burial of Iyéyasu—The Approach to the Great
Shrines—The Yomei Gate—Gorgeous Decorations—Simplicity of the
Mausoleum—The Shrine of Iyémitsu—Religious Art of Japan and India—An
Earthquake—Beauties of Wood-carving.
KANAYA’S, NIKKÔ, _June_ 21.
I HAVE been at Nikkô for nine days, and am therefore entitled to use the
word “_Kek’ko_!”
Nikkô means “sunny splendour,” and its beauties are celebrated in poetry
and art all over Japan. Mountains for a great part of the year clothed
or patched with snow, piled in great ranges round Nantaizan, their
monarch, worshipped as a god; forests of magnificent timber; ravines and
passes scarcely explored; dark green lakes sleeping in endless serenity;
the deep abyss of Kêgon, into which the waters of Chiuzenjii plunge from
a height of 250 feet; the bright beauty of the falls of Kiri Furi, the
loveliness of the gardens of Dainichido; the sombre grandeur of the
passes through which the Daiyagawa forces its way from the upper regions;
a gorgeousness of azaleas and magnolias; and a luxuriousness of
vegetation perhaps unequalled in Japan, are only a few of the attractions
which surround the shrines of the two greatest Shôguns.
To a glorious resting-place on the hill-slope of Hotoké Iwa, sacred since
767, when a Buddhist saint, called Shôdô Shônin, visited it, and declared
the old Shintô deity of the mountain to be only a manifestation of
Buddha, Hidetada, the second Shôgun of the Tokugawa dynasty, conveyed the
corpse of his father, Iyéyasu, in 1617. It was a splendid burial. An
Imperial envoy, a priest of the Mikado’s family, court nobles from
Kivôto, and hundreds of _daimiyôs_, captains, and nobles of inferior
rank, took part in the ceremony. An army of priests in rich robes during
three days intoned a sacred classic 10,000 times, and Iyéyasu was deified
by a decree of the Mikado under a name signifying “light of the east,
great incarnation of Buddha.” The less important Shôguns of the line of
Tokugawa are buried in Uyeno and Shiba, in Yedo. Since the restoration,
and what may be called the disestablishment of Buddhism, the shrine of
Iyéyasu has been shorn of all its glories of ritual and its magnificent
Buddhist paraphernalia; the 200 priests who gave it splendour are
scattered, and six Shintô priests alternately attend upon it as much for
the purpose of selling tickets of admission as for any priestly duties.
All roads, bridges, and avenues here lead to these shrines, but the grand
approach is by the Red Bridge, and up a broad road with steps at
intervals and stone-faced embankments at each side, on the top of which
are belts of cryptomeria. At the summit of this ascent is a fine granite
_torii_, 27 feet 6 inches high, with columns 3 feet 6 inches in diameter,
offered by the _daimiyô_ of Chikuzen in 1618 from his own quarries.
After this come 118 magnificent bronze lanterns on massive stone
pedestals, each of which is inscribed with the posthumous title of
Iyéyasu, the name of the giver, and a legend of the offering—all the
gifts of _daimiyô_—a holy water cistern made of a solid block of granite,
and covered by a roof resting on twenty square granite pillars, and a
bronze bell, lantern, and candelabra of marvellous workmanship, offered
by the kings of Corea and Liukiu. On the left is a five-storied pagoda,
104 feet high, richly carved in wood and as richly gilded and painted.
The signs of the zodiac run round the lower story.
The grand entrance gate is at the top of a handsome flight of steps forty
yards from the _torii_. A looped white curtain with the Mikado’s crest
in black, hangs partially over the gateway, in which, beautiful as it is,
one does not care to linger, to examine the gilded _amainu_ in niches, or
the spirited carvings of tigers under the eaves, for the view of the
first court overwhelms one by its magnificence and beauty. The whole
style of the buildings, the arrangements, the art of every kind, the
thought which inspires the whole, are exclusively Japanese, and the
glimpse from the _Ni-ô_ gate is a revelation of a previously undreamed-of
beauty, both in form and colour.
Round the neatly pebbled court, which is enclosed by a bright red timber
wall, are three gorgeous buildings, which contain the treasures of the
temple, a sumptuous stable for the three sacred Albino horses, which are
kept for the use of the god, a magnificent granite cistern of holy water,
fed from the Sômendaki cascade, and a highly decorated building, in which
a complete collection of Buddhist Scriptures is deposited. From this a
flight of steps leads into a smaller court containing a bell-tower “of
marvellous workmanship and ornamentation,” a drum-tower, hardly less
beautiful, a shrine, the candelabra, bell, and lantern mentioned before,
and some very grand bronze lanterns.
From this court another flight of steps ascends to the Yomei gate, whose
splendour I contemplated day after day with increasing astonishment. The
white columns which support it have capitals formed of great red-throated
heads of the mythical _Kirin_. Above the architrave is a projecting
balcony which runs all round the gateway with a railing carried by
dragons’ heads. In the centre two white dragons fight eternally.
Underneath, in high relief, there are groups of children playing, then a
network of richly painted beams, and seven groups of Chinese sages. The
high roof is supported by gilded dragons’ heads with crimson throats. In
the interior of the gateway there are side-niches painted white, which
are lined with gracefully designed arabesques founded on the _botan_ or
peony. A piazza, whose outer walls of twenty-one compartments are
enriched with magnificent carvings of birds, flowers, and trees, runs
right and left, and encloses on three of its sides another court, the
fourth side of which is a terminal stone wall built against the side of
the hill. On the right are two decorated buildings, one of which
contains a stage for the performance of the sacred dances, and the other
an altar for the burning of cedar wood incense. On the left is a
building for the reception of the three sacred cars which were used
during festivals. To pass from court to court is to pass from splendour
to splendour; one is almost glad to feel that this is the last, and that
the strain on one’s capacity for admiration is nearly over.
In the middle is the sacred enclosure, formed of gilded trellis-work with
painted borders above and below, forming a square of which each side
measures 150 feet, and which contains the _haiden_ or chapel. Underneath
the trellis work are groups of birds, with backgrounds of grass, very
boldly carved in wood and richly gilded and painted. From the imposing
entrance through a double avenue of cryptomeria, among courts, gates,
temples, shrines, pagodas, colossal bells of bronze, and lanterns inlaid
with gold, you pass through this final court bewildered by magnificence,
through golden gates, into the dimness of a golden temple, and there
is—simply a black lacquer table with a circular metal mirror upon it.
Within is a hall finely matted, 42 feet wide by 27 from front to back,
with lofty apartments on each side, one for the Shôgun and the other “for
his Holiness the Abbot.” Both, of course, are empty. The roof of the
hall is panelled and richly frescoed. The Shôgun’s room contains some
very fine _fusuma_, on which _kirin_ (fabulous monsters) are depicted on
a dead gold ground, and four oak panels, 8 feet by 6, finely carved, with
the phoenix in low relief variously treated. In the Abbot’s room there
are similar panels adorned with hawks spiritedly executed. The only
ecclesiastical ornament among the dim splendours of the chapel is the
plain gold _gohei_. Steps at the back lead into a chapel paved with
stone, with a fine panelled ceiling representing dragons on a dark blue
ground. Beyond this some gilded doors lead into the principal chapel,
containing four rooms which are not accessible; but if they correspond
with the outside, which is of highly polished black lacquer relieved by
gold, they must be severely magnificent.
But not in any one of these gorgeous shrines did Iyéyasu decree that his
dust should rest. Re-entering the last court, it is necessary to leave
the enclosures altogether by passing through a covered gateway in the
eastern piazza into a stone gallery, green with mosses and hepaticæ.
Within, wealth and art have created a fairyland of gold and colour;
without, Nature, at her stateliest, has surrounded the great Shôgun’s
tomb with a pomp of mournful splendour. A staircase of 240 stone steps
leads to the top of the hill, where, above and behind all the stateliness
of the shrines raised in his honour, the dust of Iyéyasu sleeps in an
unadorned but Cyclopean tomb of stone and bronze, surmounted by a bronze
urn. In front is a stone table decorated with a bronze incense-burner, a
vase with lotus blossoms and leaves in brass, and a bronze stork bearing
a bronze candlestick in its mouth. A lofty stone wall, surmounted by a
balustrade, surrounds the simple but stately enclosure, and cryptomeria
of large size growing up the back of the hill create perpetual twilight
round it. Slant rays of sunshine alone pass through them, no flower
blooms or bird sings, only silence and mournfulness surround the grave of
the ablest and greatest man that Japan has produced.
Impressed as I had been with the glorious workmanship in wood, bronze,
and lacquer, I scarcely admired less the masonry of the vast retaining
walls, the stone gallery, the staircase and its balustrade, all put
together without mortar or cement, and so accurately fitted that the
joints are scarcely affected by the rain, damp, and aggressive vegetation
of 260 years. The steps of the staircase are fine monoliths, and the
coping at the side, the massive balustrade, and the heavy rail at the
top, are cut out of solid blocks of stone from 10 to 18 feet in length.
Nor is the workmanship of the great granite cistern for holy water less
remarkable. It is so carefully adjusted on its bed that the water
brought from a neighbouring cascade rises and pours over each edge in
such carefully equalised columns that, as Mr. Satow says, “it seems to be
a solid block of water rather than a piece of stone.”
The temples of Iyémitsu are close to those of Iyéyasu, and though
somewhat less magnificent are even more bewildering, as they are still in
Buddhist hands, and are crowded with the gods of the Buddhist Pantheon
and the splendid paraphernalia of Buddhist worship, in striking contrast
to the simplicity of the lonely Shintô mirror in the midst of the blaze
of gold and colour. In the grand entrance gate are gigantic _Ni-ô_, the
Buddhist Gog and Magog, vermilion coloured, and with draperies painted in
imitation of flowered silk. A second pair, painted red and green,
removed from Iyémitsu’s temple, are in niches within the gate. A flight
of steps leads to another gate, in whose gorgeous niches stand hideous
monsters, in human form, representing the gods of wind and thunder. Wind
has crystal eyes and a half-jolly, half-demoniacal expression. He is
painted green, and carries a wind-bag on his back, a long sack tied at
each end, with the ends brought over his shoulders and held in his hands.
The god of thunder is painted red, with purple hair on end, and stands on
clouds holding thunderbolts in his hand. More steps, and another gate
containing the Tennô, or gods of the four quarters, boldly carved and in
strong action, with long eye-teeth, and at last the principal temple is
reached. An old priest who took me over it on my first visit, on passing
the gods of wind and thunder said, “We used to believe in these things,
but we don’t now,” and his manner in speaking of the other deities was
rather contemptuous. He requested me, however, to take off my hat as
well as my shoes at the door of the temple. Within there was a gorgeous
shrine, and when an acolyte drew aside the curtain of cloth of gold the
interior was equally imposing, containing Buddha and two other figures of
gilded brass, seated cross-legged on lotus-flowers, with rows of petals
several times repeated, and with that look of eternal repose on their
faces which is reproduced in the commonest road-side images. In front of
the shrine several candles were burning, the offerings of some people who
were having prayers said for them, and the whole was lighted by two lamps
burning low. On a step of the altar a much-contorted devil was crouching
uneasily, for he was subjugated and, by a grim irony, made to carry a
massive incense-burner on his shoulders. In this temple there were more
than a hundred idols standing in rows, many of them life-size, some of
them trampling devils under their feet, but all hideous, partly from the
bright greens, vermilions, and blues with which they are painted.
Remarkable muscular development characterises all, and the figures or
faces are all in vigorous action of some kind, generally grossly
exaggerated.
While we were crossing the court there were two shocks of earthquake; all
the golden wind-bells which fringe the roofs rang softly, and a number of
priests ran into the temple and beat various kinds of drums for the space
of half an hour. Iyémitsu’s tomb is reached by flights of steps on the
right of the chapel. It is in the same style as Iyéyasu’s, but the gates
in front are of bronze, and are inscribed with large Sanskrit characters
in bright brass. One of the most beautiful of the many views is from the
uppermost gate of the temple. The sun shone on my second visit and
brightened the spring tints of the trees on Hotoké Iwa, which was
vignetted by a frame of dark cryptomeria.
Some of the buildings are roofed with sheet-copper, but most of them are
tiled. Tiling, however, has been raised almost to the dignity of a fine
art in Japan. The tiles themselves are a coppery grey, with a suggestion
of metallic lustre about it. They are slightly concave, and the joints
are covered by others quite convex, which come down like massive tubes
from the ridge pole, and terminate at the eaves with discs on which the
Tokugawa badge is emblazoned in gold, as it is everywhere on these
shrines where it would not be quite out of keeping. The roofs are so
massive that they require all the strength of the heavy carved timbers
below, and, like all else, they gleam with gold, or that which simulates
it.
The shrines are the most wonderful work of their kind in Japan. In their
stately setting of cryptomeria, few of which are less than 20 feet in
girth at 3 feet from the ground, they take one prisoner by their beauty,
in defiance of all rules of western art, and compel one to acknowledge
the beauty of forms and combinations of colour hitherto unknown, and that
lacquered wood is capable of lending itself to the expression of a very
high idea in art. Gold has been used in profusion, and black, dull red,
and white, with a breadth and lavishness quite unique. The bronze
fret-work alone is a study, and the wood-carving needs weeks of earnest
work for the mastery of its ideas and details. One screen or railing
only has sixty panels, each 4 feet long, carved with marvellous boldness
and depth in open work, representing peacocks, pheasants, storks,
lotuses, peonies, bamboos, and foliage. The fidelity to form and colour
in the birds, and the reproduction of the glory of motion, could not be
excelled.
Yet the flowers please me even better. Truly the artist has revelled in
his work, and has carved and painted with joy. The lotus leaf retains
its dewy bloom, the peony its shades of creamy white, the bamboo leaf
still trembles on its graceful stem, in contrast to the rigid needles of
the pine, and countless corollas, in all the perfect colouring of
passionate life, unfold themselves amidst the leafage of the gorgeous
tracery. These carvings are from 10 to 15 inches deep, and single
feathers in the tails of the pheasants stand out fully 6 inches in front
of peonies nearly as deep.
The details fade from my memory daily as I leave the shrines, and in
their place are picturesque masses of black and red lacquer and gold,
gilded doors opening without noise, halls laid with matting so soft that
not a footfall sounds, across whose twilight the sunbeams fall aslant on
richly arabesqued walls and panels carved with birds and flowers, and on
ceilings panelled and wrought with elaborate art, of inner shrines of
gold, and golden lilies six feet high, and curtains of gold brocade, and
incense fumes, and colossal bells and golden ridge poles; of the mythical
fauna, _kirin_, dragon, and _howo_, of elephants, apes, and tigers,
strangely mingled with flowers and trees, and golden tracery, and diaper
work on a gold ground, and lacquer screens, and pagodas, and groves of
bronze lanterns, and shaven priests in gold brocade, and Shintô
attendants in black lacquer caps, and gleams of sunlit gold here and
there, and simple monumental urns, and a mountain-side covered with a
cryptomeria forest, with rose azaleas lighting up its solemn shade.