Dr. Avnish Jolly, Tokyo, Japan :The current Imperial Palace (Tokyo) is located on the former site of Edo Castle, a large park area surrounded by moats and massive stone walls in the center of Tokyo, a short walk from Tokyo station. It is the residence of Japan’s Imperial Family.
Edo Castle used to be the seat of the Tokugawa shogun who ruled Japan from 1603 until 1867. In 1868, the shogunate was overthrown, and the country’s capital and Imperial Residence were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. In 1888 construction of a new Imperial Palace was completed. The palace was once destroyed during World War Two, and rebuilt in the same style, afterwards.
From Kokyo Gaien, the large plaza in front of the Imperial Palace, visitors can view the Nijubashi, two bridges that form an entrance to the inner palace grounds. The stone bridge in front is called Meganebashi (Eyeglass Bridge) for its looks. The bridge in the back was formerly a wooden bridge with two levels, from which the name Nijubashi (Double Bridge) is derived.
The palace buildings and inner gardens are not open to the public. Only on January 2 (New Year’s Greeting) and December 23 (Emperor’s Birthday), visitors are able to enter the inner palace grounds and see the members of the Imperial Family, who make several public appearances on a balcony.
During the rest of the year, guided tours of the palace are offered in Japanese, with an English pamphlet and audio guide provided. Tours must be reserved in advance with the Imperial Household Agency.
History of the palace is after the capitulation of the Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the inhabitants including the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu had to vacate the premises of Edo Castle. In the second year of Meiji, on the 23rd day of the 10th month (1868), the emperor left Kyoto Imperial Palace for Tokyo.[2] The Edo castle compound became the new imperial residence and was renamed Tokyo Castle (“Œ‹Å¾Âé, Tokyo-j??) in October, 1868, and then renamed Imperial Castle (ÂcÂé, K?j??) in 1869. A fire consumed the whole of the old Edo Castle complex on the night of 5 May 1873. The area around the old donjon, which burned in the 1657 Meireki fire, became the site of the new imperial Palace Castle (‹{Âé, Ky?j??) built in 1888. The Meiji imperial palace building itself however was not on the same location as the Shogun’s palace, which was located in the Honmaru.
In the Meiji period, most Edo period structures of Edo Castle disappeared, either due to destruction to make way for other buildings or by earthquakes and fire. For example, the wooden double bridges (Nij?bashi) over the moat were replaced with stone and iron bridges. The architecture of the imperial palace and buildings constructed in the Meiji era was from the outside pure traditional Japanese architecture, while the interior were an eclectic mixture of Japanese and Western European elements fashionable in the 19th century. Most of the buildings were constructed from wood. The ceiling was coffered with Japanese elements; however, Western furniture such as chairs and tables, and heavy curtains instead of the traditional sh?ji, were used. For the floor, some rooms used the traditional tatami mats, while others were either parqueted or carpeted.
The main audience hall was the central part of the palace. It was the largest building in which guests were received for public events. The floor space was more than 223 tsubo (1 tsubo is 3.306?m2). In the interior, the coffered ceiling was traditional Japanese-style, while the floor was parquetry without any traditional dividing sliding doors in the western style. The roof was styled like in the Kyoto Imperial Palace, but unlike there the roof was not covered in Japanese cypress shingles but with copper plates in order to make it fireproof.
In the late Taisho and early Showa period, more buildings were added that were constructed out of concrete, such as the headquarters of the Imperial Household Ministry and the Privy Council. These structures were much more modern with only some token Japanese elements.
From 1888 to 1948, it was called Palace Castle (‹{Âé, Ky?j??). The Imperial Palace was not spared destruction during World War II from heavy bombardment. Most of the wooden structures burned down, including the main palace. It was from the basement of the library constructed out of concrete where Emperor Showa declared the capitulation of Japan in 1945. Due to the large-scale destruction of the Meiji-era palace during World II, the new main palace hall (Ky?den (‹{“a, Ky?den?)) and residences were constructed on the western part of the site in the 1960s. The whole area was renamed Imperial Palace", literally "Imperial Residence" (Âc‹Â, K?kyo?) in 1948. The east part was renamed East Garden (“ŒŒä‰‘, Higashi-Gyoen?) and has been a public park since 1968.
The present imperial palace is located in the retrenchments of former Edo Castle where the Honmaru (inner citadel), Ninomaru (second citadel), Nishinomaru (west citadel), Sannomaru (third citadel), and Fukiage Gardens existed. A palace (Ky?den (‹{“a, Ky?den?)) for various imperial court functions is located in the Nishinomaru and the residence of the emperor and empress is located in the Fukiage Gardens.
The Kitanomaru Park is located to the north and is the former northern enceinte of Edo Castle. It is a public park and Nippon Budokan Hall is located there. To the south are the large outer gardens of the imperial palace, which is also a public park. A bronze monument to Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa is located there.
