Everything about Nij Castle totally explained
is a flatland castle located in
Kyoto,
Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is 275,000 square meters, of which 8000 square meters is occupied by buildings.
History
In
1601 Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of
Tokugawa Shogunate ordered all the
feudal lords in Western
Japan to contribute to the construction of the Nijō Castle. The construction was completed during the reign of
Tokugawa Iemitsu in
1626. It was built as the
Kyoto residence of the
Tokugawa Shoguns. The Tokugawa Shogunate used
Edo as the capital city, but
Kyoto continued to be the home of the
Imperial Court (
Kyoto Imperial Palace is located north-east of Nijo Castle).
The central keep or
donjon was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in
1750.
In
1788 the Inner Palace was destroyed by a city-wide fire. The site remained empty until it was replaced by a prince's residence transferred from the Kyoto Imperial Palace in
1893.
In
1867 the Ninomaru Palace was the stage for the declaration by
Tokugawa Yoshinobu, returning the authority to the
Imperial Court. Next year the Imperial Cabinet was installed in the castle. In
1939 the palace was donated to the city of
Kyoto and opened to the public the following year.
Fortifications
The Nijō Castle has two concentric rings of fortifications, both consisting of a wall and a wide moat. There is also a much simpler wall surrounding the Ninomaru Palace. The outer wall has three gates while the inner wall has two. In the southwest corner of the inner wall there are foundations of a five-storey keep, destroyed by a fire in
1750. The inner walls contain the Honmaru Palace with its garden. Between the two main rings of fortifications are located the Ninomaru Palace, Kitchens, Guard House and several gardens.
Ninomaru Palace
The 3300 square meter Ninomaru Palace is built almost entirely of
Hinoki cypress. The decoration includes lavish quantities of
gold leaf and elaborate wood carvings, intended to impress visitors with the power and wealth of the
shoguns. The sliding doors and walls of each room are decorated with wall paintings by artists of the
Kanō school.
The castle is an excellent example of social control manifested in architectural space. Low-ranking visitors were received in the outer, more gaudy regions of the Ninomaru, whereas high-ranking visitors were shown the more subtle inner chambers. Rather than attempt to conceal the entrances to the rooms for bodyguards (as was done in many castles), the Tokugawas chose to display them prominently. Thus, the construction lent itself to expressing intimidation and power to Edo-period visitors.
The building houses several different reception chambers, offices and the living quarters of the shogun, where only female attendants were allowed. One of the most striking features of Nijō Castle are the "
nightingale floors" in the corridors. To protect the occupants from sneak attacks and assassins, the builders constructed the floors of the corridors in such a way as to squeak like birds when anyone walks on them.
Some of the rooms in the castle also contained special doors where the emperor's bodyguard could come out and protect him.
Honmaru Palace
The Honmaru Palace has a surface area of 1600 square meters. The complex has four parts: Living quarters, reception and entertainment rooms, entrance halls and kitchen area. The different areas are connected by corridors and courtyards. The architectural style is late
Edo period. The palace displays paintings by several famous masters, such as
Kanō Eigaku.
The Honmaru Palace was originally known as the Katsura Palace before relocated to the present site and renamed. Originally the palace had 55 buildings, but only a small part was relocated.
Gardens
The castle area has several gardens and groves of
cherry and
ume trees. The Ninomaru garden was designed by the famous landscape architect and tea master
Kobori Enshu. It is located between the two main rings of fortifications, next to the palace of the same name. The garden has a large pond with three islands and features numerous carefully placed stones and
topiary pine trees.
The Seiryū-en garden is the most recent part of the whole Nijō Castle. It was constructed in
1965 in the northern part of the complex. It is intended as a facility for the reception of official guests of the city of
Kyoto and as a venue for cultural events. Seiryū-en has two tea houses and more than 1000 carefully arranged stones.
Further Information
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