A landscape coloring page of Shinkyo, the vermilion sacred bridge at Nikko in Japan. This free printable is made for adults, seniors, and care settings: the bridge outline and the surrounding sky and water leave plenty of room to play with depth and shading. Download and print the PDF free — no registration required.
🗣 Conversation Starters — for care activities and family time
Have you ever been to Nikko? Did you see Tosho-gu Shrine or the Shinkyo Bridge?
Have you heard the saying “never say kekko (splendid) until you have seen Nikko”?
Have you travelled the winding Irohazaka road or visited Lake Chuzenji?
Please share your memories of trips around the Kanto region, such as Nikko and Nasu in Tochigi.
What kind of bridge is Shinkyo in Nikko?
Shinkyo (“sacred bridge”) is a vermilion-lacquered wooden bridge over the Daiya River in Nikko, and it belongs to Futarasan Shrine. It is 28 m long and 7.4 m wide, and it stands at the entrance to the sacred precincts of Mount Nikko. It is sometimes counted among Japan’s “three unusual bridges” together with Kintai-kyo in Yamaguchi, though the lists differ from source to source.
What is Nikko Tosho-gu Shrine?
Tosho-gu enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. The third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, had it rebuilt on a grand scale in 1636. It is famous for the Sleeping Cat carving, the three wise monkeys (“see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”), and the richly decorated Yomeimon Gate, and it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
What does “never say kekko until you have seen Nikko” mean?
The proverb plays on the word kekko, meaning “splendid”: you should not call anything splendid until you have seen Nikko Tosho-gu. It speaks to the lavish architecture of the shrine and the beauty of the mountains around it, long held up as a benchmark for Japanese scenery and craftsmanship.
