Nijō Castle is 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 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 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.
The Nijō Castle comes with 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 foundations of a five-storey has been 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.
Its 3300 square meter Ninomaru Palace is built almost entirely of Hinoki cypress. The decorations 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 a very great example of social control manifested in architectural space. Low-ranking visitors were received in the outer, gaudier 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.
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. The building houses several different reception chambers, offices and the living quarters of the shogun, where only female attendants were allowed. Some of the rooms in the castle also contained special doors where the emperor's bodyguard could come out and protect him. Truly a famous attraction in Kyoto, Japan.
Did you know? That the surface area of this Japanese castle is 275,000 square meters, of which 8000 square meters is occupied by buildings. And 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.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for info. Lovely place.
ReplyDeleteThanks for inf. Lovely place.
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