The Horaizan Toshogu Shrine is located about halfway up Horaiji Mountain, which has a very historical background. Mount Horaiji is not a very steep mountain. The mountain’s elevation is 695 meters and is great for hiking, while enjoying the beautiful atmosphere. The trail of the mountain is designated as an official scenic spot and natural monument of the country of Japan.

There is a hot spring named Yuya Onsen at the foot of mountain, which makes for a great way to heal your exhausted body after a long hike. After a long day of exploring the historic and breathtaking sights of Mount Horaiji, taking a soak in the Yuya Onsen will relax your mind and help you feel refreshed.

When the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, Tokugawa Iemitsu, worshipped at the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, he read an excerpt from the book “Toshogu Shaenki,” which noted the origin of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Greatly impressed, he decided to create the Toshogu Shrine at Horaiji Mountain. The reason why he chose this location is explained in the excerpt of the book below:

“The father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, before Ieyasu was born, was severely distressed because his wife was unable to have children. In order to pray for a child, he visited and stayed at the Horaiji Temple for a long time with his wife. One day, his wife had a dream that an old man came from the East and gave her a gold rosary. After a while of praying eagerly, she became pregnant. The baby was born on the 26th of December in the year 1542, and this was Tokugawa Ieyasu.”

The construction of the Horaizan Toshogu Shrine began during the period of the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, Tokugawa Iemitsu. The shrine was not completed until September 17, 1651, during the period of the fourth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, Ietsuna Tokugawa.

There is another legend that comes from this story. Tokugawa Ieyasu was given a life in this world on December 26th, 1542. It was said that the time of his birth was around 5 am. At the same time of his birth, a statue of Kinnara, which is one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals and was enshrined at Horaiji Temple, suddenly disappeared. Because of this, it is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu was born as a reincarnation of Kinnara in order to put an end to the war of the Sengoku period (end of 14 century to end of 16 century). (It is said that after he died, a statue of Kinnara was back to the place which used to be) A life of 75 years, Tokugawa Ieyasu experienced many ups and downs. There is extensive history and remnants of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s life that can be found all over the Japan, but in particular, we recommend the Horaizan Toshogu Shrine because it is the real starting point of Tokugawyasu. Beyond its history, Horaizan Toshogu Shrine also has a breathtaking Honden (main building of shrine), incredible historical structures, and more. Even now, over 350 years since the time it was built, it still looks exactly the same. This shrine is also designated as an important cultural asset of the country, so it is definitely worth visiting.