有徳院
Yūtoku-in

(Divine Prince of Virtue & Riches)

八代将軍徳川吉宗公
8th Shōgun, Lord Tokugawa Yoshimune

LOCATION: Kan’ei-ji (Ueno Park)

Writing this Series just got a lot Easier!

I’ve mentioned before that later in the Edo Period, the shōguns were enshrined together; something called 合祀 gōshi in Japanese. We have now finally come to that moment. I’m sad to say that from here on out, there are no new mortuary temples built. I also mentioned that that for whatever reason, Kan’ei-ji has always kept the Tokugawa Shōgun family graves private. Once a year, they run a lottery for a chance to attend a special 3 day opening of the Tokugawa Shōgun Graveyard and the 葵之間 aoi no ma the room at Kan’ei-ji where the last shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, having abdicated, confined himself in an act of submission to the emperor – a kind of voluntary house arrest. So once a year, a few lucky people are allowed into the graveyard. However, photography is strictly forbidden. There are a few photos floating around the internet, but most of these are accompanied by a story of sneaking in – a risky venture in my opinion.

Further Reading:

• Check out the graves of all 15 Tokugawa shōguns here

A Little Background

Yoshimune is considered one of the best shōguns. He ruled for about 30 years. He was closely related to Ietsuna, Tsunayoshi, and Ienobu. Before he was installed as shōgun, he had been the daimyō of Kii. The domain was in serious financial strain when he became lord of Kii, so his reign was marked by frugality and an effort to save money. When Ietsugu died at age six – obviously without an heir – Yoshimune was installed at shōgun. He restructured the shōgunate and implemented many austerity measures. Building Ietsugu’s massive mausoleum at Zōjō-ji did not seem to be a money saving action, but hey, nobody asked me.

In his will, he expressed a desire to be enshrined at Jōken-in because he respected the 5^th shōgun, Tsunayoshi. He requested a simple stone monument. Because of his financial reforms and/or out of respect for Yoshimune, all subsequent shōguns were enshrined at existing mausolea.

Further Reading:

• Click here for a description of Jōken-in to see what Yoshimune’s temple looked like.
• Tokugawa Yoshimune’s Bio

Karamon (Chinese Gate)

Nakamon (middle gate)

Oku no In and Hotо̄

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