Nikko Toshogu Experience
Text by student Trinket Guth
Toshogu Shrine is incredibly beautiful. I genuinely have no words to describe the art that covers every inch of the place, from delicate wood carvings, to huge stone lanterns, to a massive lantern that can rotate when filled with candles. When we went it was, justifiably, filled with tourists. There were travelers from all over the world, including those local to Japan. The site seemed a particularly popular destination for Japanese field trips, given the number of children dressed in uniform being corralled into groups.
The massive, noisy crowds made me think hard about the commodification of Japanese culture. Shrines are meant to be holy places, but the traditional purification fountain at the shrine was blocked off. The Toshogu Shrine, and the shrines and temples surrounding it, were likely sites of holy pilgrimages at one time, and now they are just another place on the checklist of “things to see when you visit Japan.” I think about the monks who watch over the religious practices in the area, and I wonder what they think about the massive tourism from both locals and foreigners. Are they simply happy for the tourism money that helps with upkeeping the area, along with the money that visitors spend on local restaurants and shops? Or do they mourn the loss of tranquility that exists at many other shrines and temples, even in Tokyo? It was wonderful to see an Unesco World Heritage site, but part of me wishes that I could've seen the Nikko Toshogu Shrine as the holy site it was designed to be, not the tourist destination it has become.
Photo by Christie Herbert.
