{"id":16,"date":"2014-04-10T02:21:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T02:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/?p=16"},"modified":"2023-03-01T20:13:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T20:13:00","slug":"nikko-is-nippon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/10\/nikko-is-nippon\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikko is Nippon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I remember a particular and inescapable JR promotional\ntravel poster from years back. Unlike other advertisements, the deceptively\nsimple message was actually more striking than the beautiful image. Three\nsimple words: Nikko is Nippon.  Beating\nlike a drum as you marched through any and every train station in the country.\nNikko is<\/em> Nippon. Okay, what does that\nmean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country we call Japan today has had a lot of identities over the years\u2026err, millennia. Actually, many important people and places throughout Japanese history have had multiple names, which makes memorizing them about as difficult as remembering the many different ways to read kanji (the adopted Chinese characters used in the written language). Speaking of which, there are two ways to read the kanji for the name of the country: Nihon and Nippon. The latter of which is more formal, and often used patriotically to evoke everything strong and good about the nation\u2019s legacy that will continue to shine through the ages. It is the yang to Nihon\u2019s yin. So then, what about Nikk\u014d embodies this intangible idea, this identity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a word: everything. The archipelago we call Japan today would look very different if it weren\u2019t for a series of unification attempts (battles) set in place by a succession of three men, the latter of which is posthumously referred to as Ieyasu Tokugawa (again, many names). Okay, naturally the archipelago would still exist, but what would come to be known as Japan would consist of much less than the 6,000+ islands it does today. A similar unification attempt had a different outcome when the Silla Kingdom enlisted in the assistance of the Tang Dynasty and gave away half of it\u2019s northern neighbor\u2019s land to China as compensation, severely shrinking the size of Korea and sparking the flame that would later be fanned into the north-south divide seen today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Japan\u2019s case, the unification led to an increase, rather\nthan a decrease in its size, which would subsequently make it easier to add the\ntropical islands of Okinawa and the northern island of Hokkaido to this\namalgamation (kind of like Hawaii and Alaska respective to the U.S. in a\nstrange coincidence), but I digress. Japan\u2019s history is repeatedly marked by\nsudden, drastic, sweeping changes, and the emergence of the Edo Period was no\nexception. Perhaps most welcome, was the long-awaited peace this era ushered\nin. The isolation policies implemented and enforced, allowed Japanese culture\nto flourish largely unfettered by the rapid geopolitical tides affecting its\nneighbors at the time. This of course would largely come to an abrupt end with\nthe Meiji Restoration, and be subjected to a further, external mutation in the\nSh\u014dwa period, but provided a well-delineated backdrop against which to refocus a\nsense of modern cultural identity in the turbulent aftermath of the eras that\nsucceeded it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The primary sh\u014dgun in the ultimate shogunate is laid to rest\nat T\u014dsh\u014d-g\u016b. In accordance to his wishes, he was enshrined like a deity. In\nstark contrast to the reserved aesthetic of other shrines, the palatial\nstructures are ornately gilded in gold and enveloped with intricate woodcarvings\nand paintings. A short, but rigorous climb up many stone steps through the\nforest beyond and above the mausoleum will lead you to a bronze urn that\nactually contains the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The man who moved the capital\nfrom Kyoto to what would become modern day Tokyo, who strategically capitalized\non the legacies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobunaga before him, who became\nmore powerful than the Emperor, and forged a nation that would enchant the\nworld for centuries after his parting. It\u2019s a humbling privilege to\ncircumambulate his final resting place and, like stargazing, makes one feel\nmighty small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinky\u014d, or sacred bridge, marks the entrance to the UNESCO\nWorld Heritage designated temples and shrines of Nikk\u014d. It is considered to be\none of Japan\u2019s most beautiful bridges, and belongs to Futarasan jinja, a Shint\u014d\nshrine adjacent to T\u014dsh\u014d-g\u016b and dedicated to the gods of the three holiest mountains\nin Nikk\u014d. The most prominent of these is Mount Nantai, also referred to as\nFutarasan, to which the shrine owes its namesake, and gorgeous Lake Ch\u016bzenji its\nexistence. A violent eruption formed the lake approximately 20,000 years ago,\nand now the only outlet for its waters is Kegon Falls, one of Japan\u2019s most\nimpressive waterfalls. The lake is the source of the Daiya River, over which\nShinky\u014d spans. And so, it goes around in a circle, like a snake eating its own\ntail (the Ouroboros). Speaking of snakes, legend has it that Shinky\u014d was\ncreated when the founder of Futarasan jinja, Sh\u014dd\u014d Sh\u014dnin, led an expedition to\nclimb Mt. Nantai. He and his followers couldn\u2019t cross the roaring rapids of the\nDaiya River, so they prayed.  A giant god\nreleased two snakes and they formed a bridge that would allow the party to\ncontinue. Hence, the bridge\u2019s alternative name: Yamasuga-no-Jabashi, or Snake Bridge of Sedge. Now, that really is\ncyclical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nikk\u014d means sunlight, and just as sunshine is intrinsic to\nsunrises, so too is Nikk\u014d essential to the Land of the Rising Sun. The natural\nbeauty, cultural and historic significance make it a must-see for tourists and\nresidents alike, as outlined in the Japanese proverb: \u201cNikk\u014d wo minai naka wa kekk\u014d to iu na\u201d, which loosely translates to, \u201cDon\u2019t\nsay beautiful until you\u2019ve seen Nikk\u014d.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikk\u014d is located in Tochigi Prefecture, roughly two hours north of Tokyo. The two fastest ways to get there from here are on Tobu\u2019s Spacia train or JR\u2019s shinkansen<\/em> (bullet train). The latter option is free with the Japan Rail Pass. If you take the shinkansen, you\u2019ll have to transfer to the Nikk\u014d line in Utsunomiya, which breaks up the trip nicely and is famous for its gy\u014dza (meat and vegetable dumplings). Nikk\u014d makes for a great daytrip from Tokyo, but if you\u2019d like to really take it in, and especially if you\u2019d like to visit Kegon Falls and Lake Ch\u016bzenji, an overnight stay is recommended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I remember a particular and inescapable JR promotional travel poster from years back. Unlike other advertisements, the deceptively simple message was actually more striking than the beautiful image. Three simple words: Nikko is Nippon.  Beating like a drum as you marched through any and every train station in the country. Nikko is Nippon. Okay, what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48],"tags":[5,6],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions\/479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejoyphotographic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}