Nikkō Day

What Is Nikkō Day?

Every July 26th is "Nikkō Day" (日光の日, Nikkō no Hi) in Japan. On July 26, 820 CE (the 11th year of the Kōnin era), the great Buddhist monk Kūkai (空海, also known as Kōbō Daishi, 774–835) is said to have visited the sacred mountain then called "Futarasan" (二荒山) and, reading the characters 二荒 in their Sino-Japanese sound "nikō," renamed it "Nikkō" (日光, "Sunlight") — a tradition that helped establish the sacred character of the site that would eventually make it home to some of Japan's most spectacular religious architecture.

Nikkō's Sacred History

The Nikkō mountain area has been revered as a sacred site since at least the 8th century CE. The monk Shōdō Shōnin (勝道上人) is said to have founded the temple Shihonryūji at the foot of the mountains in 766 CE and reached the summit of Mount Nantai in 782 CE. The name "Futara" is thought to derive from "Fudaraku" (補陀洛, Potalaka), the mountain home of the bodhisattva Kannon, and subsequent generations of Buddhist and Shinto religious practitioners deepened the sacred associations of the site. Kūkai's 820 visit — if historical — added the sanction of one of Japan's most celebrated religious figures to the mountain's spiritual reputation.

The Tōshōgū Shrine Complex

Nikkō's most famous monuments date from the early 17th century. The Tōshōgū Shrine (東照宮) was built by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1617 and rebuilt on a grand scale in 1636 under the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, as the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate. The shrine complex — featuring the famous Yōmeimon Gate (陽明門, decorated with over 500 sculptures) and the Sleeping Cat (眠り猫) carving — represents the pinnacle of Edo-period decorative architectural art. Nikkō's shrines and temples are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site (designated 1999).

Nikkō's Natural Landscape

Nikkō is also celebrated for its natural beauty — the Kegon Falls (華厳滝, one of Japan's three most famous waterfalls), Lake Chūzenji (中禅寺湖), and the autumn foliage (紅葉, kōyō) of the surrounding mountains attract visitors throughout the year. The combination of spectacular religious architecture and dramatic natural scenery makes Nikkō one of Japan's most visited destinations.

Fun Facts

• "Never say magnificent": A famous Japanese saying — "Nikkō wo minakereba kekko to iu na" (日光を見ずして結構と言うな, meaning "Don't call something magnificent until you've seen Nikkō") — captures the superlative quality of Nikkō's Tōshōgū shrine complex, which was designed to be the most lavishly decorated religious complex in Japan.
• Three wise monkeys: The famous "three wise monkeys" carving (見ざる、聞かざる、言わざる, "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil") on the sacred stable (神厩舎) at Nikkō's Tōshōgū is one of the world's most recognized visual symbols — Japanese in origin but known globally as a universal moral maxim.
• Cedar avenue: The Nikkō Cedar Avenue, lined with about 12,000 cedar trees, is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's longest tree-lined avenue.