The model is an accurate one-tenth scale facsimile of the Taitokuin Mausoleum, dedicated to the second Tokugawa shogun, Hidetada, who died in 1632. The Mausoleum was constructed shortly after his death at the Tokugawa family temple of Zojo-ji in Edo (now Tokyo). It was made by the leading architects, builders, sculptors and artists of the day and served as the prototype for the rebuilding of the Nikko Toshogu in 1634-36. The Mausoleum was destroyed in the war-time bombing of Tokyo in May 1945.

The model was commissioned by the City of Tokyo for display at the Japan-British Exhibition at White City, London, from May to October 1910, at which millions of Londoners gained their first experience of Japanese culture. It was made while the actual Mausoleum still stood, and was based on precise measurements and study of its architecture and decoration. As it is very large, the model was made with many of the same materials and techniques of the original, including timber frame joinery by temple carpenters, maki-e (gold and silver lacquerwork) metal work and polychromy.

After the Exhibition the model became part of the Royal Collection. It was placed on display in the Orangery at Kew Gardens until around 1936. In 2014 the model was placed on long-term loan from the Royal Collection to the authorities of Zojo-ji Temple in Tokyo, for restoration and long-term display.

Bibliography: W.H. Coaldrake, 'The Mystery of the Meiji model of the Shogun's Mausoleum', Orientations 37:4, 2006, pp. 34-40