JNDA# 07-23
| Material | Silver |
| Composition | Pure Silver |
| Weight | 31.1grams=1.09oz |
| Diameter | 40mm=1.57in |
| Year of Production | 2012(Heisei 24 year) |
These silver coins were issued to commemorate the enforcement of Japan’s Local Autonomy Law.
Each of the 47 prefectures has its own unique design.
The coin of Tochigi Prefecture features the National Treasure, the Yomeimon Gate of Nikko Toshogu Shrine.
Toshogu Yomeimon Gate
Nikko Toshogu Shrine is the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616), the first shogun of the Edo shogunate. Together with Futarasan Shrine and Rinnoji Temple within Nikko Mountain, it was registered as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1999 under the name “Shrines and Temples of Nikko.”
The Yomeimon Gate is the symbolic structure of the shrine, built in 1635 by order of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu. The gate’s name is said to have been bestowed from the “Yomeimon Gate,” one of the twelve gates of the Imperial Palace in Heian-kyo. At its front hangs a plaque inscribed with “Toshogu Daigongen,” a title granted by Emperor Go-Yozei. Furthermore, the gate’s interior features 508 sculptures and vividly colored decorations. Because one could gaze at them all day without growing weary, it is also called the “Sunset Gate.”
