Yusho-in Nitenmon Tokugawa Ietsugu

Yusho-in・the Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu

有章院
Yūshō-in

(Divine Prince of Composed Existence)

七代将軍徳川家継公
7th Shōgun, Lord Tokugawa Ietsugu

LOCATION: Zōjō-ji (Shiba Park)

Tokugawa Ietsugu looking quite mature for his age.
Tokugawa Ietsugu looking quite mature for his age.

The 7th shōgun, Ietsugu, was the last descendent of the direct line started by Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was only shōgun for 3 years.

He died at age 6.

The next shōgun, Yoshimune, threw mad loot at Zōjō-ji for the construction of a large mausoleum next to Ienobu’s. The wood carvings and engravings were said to rival those at Nikkō making it a popular sightseeing spot until it was destroyed in the Great Tōkyō Air Raid in 1945.

Ietsugu’s mausoleum, called Yūshōin, was the last great funerary complex built by the shōgunate. Ietsugu’s short reign saw one of the first serious financial crises of the Edo Period. As an austerity measure, Yoshimune opted for a 合祀 gōshi group enshrinement. I don’t know if this is this was an edict, but the practice continued until the fall of the bakufu in 1868. Just to put things into perspective, there were 15 shōguns. We’re at the halfway point now and sadly, there will be no more funerary temples. The rest of this series is going to go by very quickly. lol

Structures of Yūshō-in

Structure NameDescriptionConditionStatus
本殿
honden
the main halldestroyed
相之間
ai no ma
in gongen-zukuri architecture, the structure that connects the honden and haiden.destroyed
拝殿
haiden
the inner or private worship halldestroyed
前廊
zenrō
a latticework fence that forms the border to a templedestroyed
中門
nakamon
The “middle gate” which usually opens from a court yard into the worship hall destroyed
左右廊
sayūrō
portico on the left and right side of a shrinedestroyed
渡廊
watarō
porticodestroyed
透塀
sukibei
latticework fence that encloses a temple or shrinedestroyed
内透塀
uchi-sukibei
name means inner latticework fencedestroyed
外透塀
soto-sukibei
name means outer latticework fencedestroyed
仕切門
shikirimon
entrance to the oku no indestroyed
鐘楼
shōrō
belfry, bell towerdestroyed
井戸屋形
ido yakata 
roof over a well, or springdestroyed
勅額門
chokugakumon
imperial scroll gate; posthumous name of the deceased hand written by the emperor which marked the official entrance to the funerary templedestroyed
二天門
nitenmon
main gate, protected by 2 godsextant, but in awful conditionTōkyō Prince Hotel
奥院波板塀
oku no in nami itabei
“wave fence” made of planks around the
inner sanctuary
destroyed
奥院拝殿
oku no in haiden
worship hall within the inner sanctuarydestroyed
奥院宝塔
oku no in hōtō
A copper 2-story pagoda styled funerary urn that houses the remains of the deceasedfair conditionIn the Tokugawa Graveyard at Zōjō-ji
奥院唐門
oku no in karamon
so-called Chinese style gate that provided entry and exit to the tomb of the deceaseddestroyed
奥院中門
oku no in nakamon
presumably the gate to another small fence around the hōtōdestroyedSome of the stone wall is preserved near the dumpsters of the Prince Hotel
水盤舎
suibansha
water basins for ritual purificationdestroyed
石灯籠
ishidōrō
traditional stone lanternsscattered all over the Kantō areaI suspect some are at Fudō-ji in Tokorozawa
銅燈籠
dōdōrō 
copper lanternsscattered all over the Kantō areaI suspect some are at Fudō-ji in Tokorozawa
御成門
o-nari mon
private “backdoor” entrance to Zōjō-ji for the private use of the shōgun.extant and in fair conditionTōkyō Prince Hotel

Located inside Ietsugu’s complex, was another mortuary temple for the 9th shōgun, Ieshige, who was co-enshrined at Yūshō-in. I’ll talk more about that in a later article.

Nitenmon, the Main Gate

The main gate of many Buddhist temples is a 二天門 nitenmon. The name doesn’t mean “main gate” it means “two heavens” gate. the character 天 ten (“heaven”) refers to the names of the two deities that are housed inside of the gate. Next time you visit an Edo Period temple, see if you can spot this type of gate. Here’s a little background on a famous Nitenmon located at Sensō-ji, a popular tourist destination in Tōkyō (note the connection to the Tokugawa… see what I did there?).

I can’t find any pictures from the before the firebombing, so you’ll have to do with modern pictures.

Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu destroyed
The nitenmon is in deplorable condition.
It’s in the original location, but the property is no longer Zojo-ji.
It’s now on the Tokyo Prince Hotel’s land, a stone’s throw from the main entrance to Zojo-ji.
Yushoin Grave Gate Destroyed WWII
Go back to my article on Daitoku-in and check out Hidetada’s So-mon (essentially a nitenmon).
Then look at this one.
I wish they’d restore it or just tear it down.
Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu destroyed
Seriously, WTF, people???
Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu destroyed
If this were restored, it would be a fantastic addition to the Shiba area.
広目天 Kōmokuten (Virupaksha in Sanskrit) - basically a pissed off deity.
広目天 Kōmokuten (Virupaksha in Sanskrit) – basically a pissed off deity.
多聞天 (Tamonten, generally equivocated with the other Japanese kami, Bishamonten - one of the 7 gods of good luck).
多聞天 (Tamonten, generally equivocated with the other Japanese kami, Bishamonten – one of the seven gods of good luck).
Still… dude looks pissed off as hell.
A message to Edo riff raff, don’t try to pull any shit inside the mausoleum precinct.
Tokugawa Ietsugu's Grave Restored
From 2018-2019, they beautifully restored Yusho-in Nitenmon Gate. I’ve been waiting for this for 15 years! The statues were not restored and are now behind glass. The stairs are now inaccessible.
Yushoin Nitenmon Gate restored
The back of the Yusho-in Nitenmon is more accessible (from the Prince Hotel parking lot).

Imperial Scroll Gate

After walking through the nitenmon (main entrance), you would come to a courtyard which led to the next gate, the imperial scroll gate. By now you know what an imperial scroll gate is, so I’m not going to harp on it. However, apparently the scroll gate of Yūshō-in was considered a masterpiece for its ostentatious color, gold leafing and most of all, for its elaborate wood carvings.

View of the courtyard between the main entrance (right) and the imperial scroll gate (left) from the o-narimon (the shogun's private entrance).
View of the courtyard between the main entrance (right) and the imperial scroll gate (left) from the o-narimon (the shogun’s private entrance).
zozyoji_k11
View of the imperial scroll gate and behind it you can see the nakamon (middle gate) of the haiden (worship hall).
View of the imperial scroll gate and behind it you can see the nakamon (middle gate) of the haiden (worship hall).
After passing thru the Nitenmon, this would be the next thing you see - the scroll gate.
After passing thru the Nitenmon, this would be the next thing you see – the scroll gate.
Yushoin Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu
People loved taking pictures of the scroll gate.
People loved taking pictures of the scroll gate.
People loved taking pictures of the scroll gate.
People loved taking pictures of the scroll gate.
People loved taking pictures of the scroll gate.
Yushoin Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu
People loved taking pictures of the scroll gate.
Yushoin Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu
People loved taking pictures of the scroll gate.
Most surviving pictures of this mausoleum of this gate. It was obviously something to behold.
Most surviving pictures of this mausoleum of this gate.
It was obviously something to behold.

Nakamon and Oku no In

After you passed through the scroll gate, you’d find the bell tower on your right.

Yushoin Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu including the bell tower.
Backside of the imperial scroll gate and the bell tower.
Bell Tower and the back of the Imperial Scroll Gate
Bell Tower and the back of the Imperial Scroll Gate

Oku no In – The Inner Sanctuary

Not sure what most of these structures are… except for the water basins, etc….

1812
Perhaps the Ai no Ma
The water basin and the well.
The water basin and the well.
0033_shiba_go06_img06-16
Not exactly sure, but probably part of the haiden or honden.
増上寺s旧御霊屋s008
Not exactly sure, but probably part of the haiden or honden.
portico inside the haiden
portico inside the haiden
After we leave the haiden, we enter another courtyard and then come to the Chinese Style Gate.
After we leave the haiden, we enter another courtyard and then come to the Chinese Style Gate.

Tamaya – The Graveyard

After passing through the Chinese Gate, we come to the actual graveyard.

Yushoin Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu
A bronze oku noi n nakamon leading to tomb
Yushoin Grave of Tokugawa Ietsugu
Ietsugu’s grave today….

What About that Secret Shōgun Door you Mentioned?

Well, yes… there was a special gate for the shōgun which was called 御成門 o-nari mon.
But it wasn’t a secret. O-nari means “presence of the shōgun.”

In fact, it was so famous that even today there is a train station named 御成門駅 Onarimon Eki Onarimon Station. And the neighborhood itself is also called Onarimon.

BTW, I have an article about Onarimon.

The shogun's private entrance....
The shogun’s private entrance….
(shot from inside Yusho-in, I think.
The shogun's private gate,
The shogun’s private gate,
Notice the bansho (check point) on the left.
O-nari mon.... the shogun's back door......
O-nari mon…. the shogun’s back door……
(that’s what she said!)
back of the o-narimon
back of the shogun’s backdoor – o-nari mon

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