History of Oku-Nikko
Oku-Nikko is a naturally dramatic region with a recorded history dating back to the Nara period (710–792). In 767, the monk Shodo, who was born in Tochigi Prefecture, set out to climb Mt. Nantai in Nikko, a mountain considered sacred. On his third attempt, he reached the summit of the mountain and founded the Okunomiya inner shrine of the Futarasan Shrine in 782. Oku-Nikko became a particularly sacred region in Japan for yamabushi, followers of Sangaku Shinko, or mountain worship. This practice is still popular today. In 788, Shodo discovers Yumoto Onsen hot springs. Over the following centuries, Oku-Nikko drew many religious practitioners from around Japan and became a pilgrimage destination.
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, international travelers began to visit Japan, and Oku-Nikko was popular as a place to escape the summer heat in Japan. In 1872 British diplomat Ernest Satow’s first visited Oku-Nikko. There are a number of former diplomatic summer residences in Nikko. In 1873 Iwana char were released into Lake Chuzenji for the first time by a local resident, and in 1878 British travel writer Isabella Bird visited Oku-Nikko.
In 1934 Nikko was designated a national park.
