The most important shrine in Nikko is reached by a long stone staircase. Dazzling with gold and colours, it was built in 1634-36 and houses the mausoleum of the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. A five-storey pagoda (Gojunoto) stands to the left of an impressive torii. A second staircase leads to a gate - Omote-mon - followed by a courtyard with sacred storehouses and a stable decorated with the famous monkey trio. At the top of another staircase you come to a splendid gate decorated with numerous sculptures, Yomei-mon, which leads into the sacred hangar (Shinyosha). The last gate, Kara-mon, opens onto the central shrine (Honsha).