When the founder of the shrine(shogun Ieyasu in case you've lost track) died, the emperor made him a Shinto god. His shrine is the plain dark one pictured here, and you can see a shinto priest and followers paying respects. the other shrine pictured here is that of his grandson, Iemitsu. In addition to outshining his grandfather by a wide margin, he also had dozens of buildings and gates spread all over the complex, all by the best artists in Japan. The whole assemblage is covered in lacquer and gold leaf, and intricate carvings decorate almost any available surface. There's far too much to show here, but in the next post, I'll put up some closeups of some of the workmanship.