Nijō Castle 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.
In 1601, Tokugawa
Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, ordered all the feudal lords in Western Japan to contribute to the construction of Nijō Castle, which was
completed during the reign of Tokugawa
Iemitsu in 1626. Parts of Fushimi
Castle, such as the main tower and the karamon,
were moved here in 1625-26. 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. The palace became
imperial property and was declared a detached palace. During this time, the
Tokugawa hollyhock crest was
removed wherever possible and replaced with the imperial chrysanthemum. In 1939, the palace was
donated to the city of Kyoto and opened to the public the following
year. In the 21st century, typhoons have periodically caused sections of
plaster to peel off the walls after exposure to rain and wind.
Thank you Budou for this nice card.
