"The Power of Our Ancestors: The Fountain of Wisdom" is a program on NHK Educational TV (Tuesdays at 10pm) that teaches wisdom that is relevant to the modern age from historical predecessors. On June 17th, they will be looking at Nankobo Tenkai, who is said to have been Ieyasu's brain and the pillar that supported the Edo Shogunate for 260 years.
The subtitle of the program that day was "Nankobo Tenkai, the pillar of the Edo Shogunate, look ahead to the future!" Tenkai's achievement was that he worked hard to deify Ieyasu after his death and built the pillar that supported the Edo Shogunate for 260 years.
After enshrining Ieyasu as Toshogu Daigongen at Nikko Toshogu Shrine, he called for the construction of Toshogu Shrines all over the country. He strongly encouraged not only those in places related to Ieyasu, such as Ueno and Serada, but also various feudal lords, who all built shrines in vain, pledging their loyalty to the shogunate. At its peak, it is said that there were more than 700 Toshogu Shrines throughout the country.
This film explores the wisdom of Tenkai, who performed outstanding work during the unstable early days of the shogunate until his death at the age of 108.
