By; AJ Witte
This is a photo of a shrine which through my research seems to be the tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu (Japan Guide). There is what seems to be a small shrine which I would assume holds various personal items or maybe even his Ieyasu’s ashes, sitting atop a set of brick stairs. To the front of the stairs sits a small statue of what I would assume to be a heron. The photo was commissioned sometime between the years of 1870 and 1889 (New York Public Library). The photo seems to be currently held by the New York Public Library which is located specifically in the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection (NYPL). I could not seem to find who exactly took this photo. This connects to what we have learned as this is the resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu himself, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate (Totman). An interesting point about this photo is that if you are to look up this exact same tomb, it is now a very lavish and famous tourist attraction. This of course makes sense, as someone as famous as Tokugawa Ieyasu should have a very lavish and fancy final resting place.
Sources:
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-c67d-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3801.html
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tokugawa-Ieyasu
