Myohoin Temple

The founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616), aspired to bind his family to the imperial family through marriage. Although he did not survive long enough to witness the event, that bond materialized in 1619 when Ieyasu’s granddaughter, Masako (1607–1678), was installed as a consort of Emperor Go-Mizunoo (1611–1629). The occasion set off a spate of building and refurbishment projects around Kyoto. One of those was the creation of the palace that was later moved to Myōhōin and renamed the Ōshoin. It is now an Important Cultural Property. With wall and door paintings produced by artists from the celebrated Kano school, the building reflects the aesthetic sensibilities and artistic richness of the early seventeenth century.