Nijō Castle
Nijō Castle (二条城; -jō) is located in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, 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 Nijo Castle. The construction was completed during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1626. It was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns.
In 1788 the Inner Palace was destroyed by a city-wide fire. The site remained empty until 1862.
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 Nijo 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 the are the 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 foil 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 Kano 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 Nijo 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.
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 Kano 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 fortification, 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 Seiryu-en garden is the most recent part of the whole Nijo 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 a venue for cultural events. Seiryu-en has two tea houses and more than 1000 carefully arranged stones.