Ueno Toshogu Shrine

The Ueno Toshogu Shrine features a wall of two hundred copper lanterns, each donated by a feudal lord to honor the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. While Tokyo fires and earthquakes leveled surrounding districts, this gold-leafed hall survived intact since sixteen fifty-one. It functions as a memorial to the man who unified Japan and established the shogunate. The intricate carvings of dragons on the gate were rumored to come alive at night to drink from the nearby pond, leaving the craftsmen to fear their own work.