Kyoto Corner – Nijo-jo
by Jade Pavilions on 07/09/08 at 10:01 am
Nijo-jo or Nijo castle as it is better known, is one of the many sites in Kyoto city which has both impressive architecture and gardens including a number of cultural heritage treasures. The moated castle was constructed in the early 17th century by the Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first of the Tokugawa shoguns who unified Japan, with all it’s feudal fiefdoms. Some of the structures were moved from Fushimi in the south western part of the city. The last Tokugawa shogun returned sovereignty to the Emperor in 1867 along with the castle, which in 1939 was handed over to the city of Kyoto. The castle has extensive grounds and the surviving buildings include the Ninomaru Palace and gardens, the modern Seiryu-en garden and the Honmaru.
The palace is some 3,300 square metres in floor area and consists of five buildings and 33 rooms. It is constructed from Hinoki (cypress) timber and the impressive wall paintings are by the Kano school of artists. The first building has two reception rooms used to check the identities of visiting feudal lords and act as waiting rooms before entering the main reception building where the lords were received by the Shogun’s ministers, who received the gifts. The building contains rooms for both the ministers and the Imperial messengers. 
The feudal lords (daimyos) where then ushered into the audience rooms according to their allegiance. Those that fought against the Shogun were seen in the outer chambers, whilst those who were allies in the conflict were granted audience in the inner chambers. The shoguns private quarters were in a smaller separate building beyond the audience chambers. Other rooms contained the shogun’s armoury. All the enclosed corridors have the traditional squeaky floorboards know as nightingale floors (Uguisu-bari). The boards squeak to alert the guards of approaching visitors or even ninja attacks. The bird like sounds they make give rise to the name.
The main Ninomaru garden is situated in front of the palace and has a large central pond with many large rocks and three islands representing eternal happiness (Horai-jima), crane (Tsuru-jima) and the turtle (Kame-jima). The design (along with many others) is attributed to Kobori Enshu.
The grounds include a cherry and plum grove with a green garden including many ancient cherry trees in a mossy setting and a new garden constructed in 1965. 
The Seiryu-en garden contains over 1000 rocks and two teahouses used by the city to entertain official guests.
The Honmaru is the area surrounded by the inner moat and originally contained the Shogun’s palace and accommodation for his retainers but this was largely destroyed by fire in 1750 (started by a lightning strike). The existing building was moved from the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 1847.
The castle is readily accessible and popular with visitors, being on the standard Kyoto 1 day itinerary However it is large enough to accommodate the many visitors that go there without feeling overcrowded as some temples do. The venue provides an excellent mix of gardens and architecture and is open to the public on most days. Well worth including on your itinerary
© 2008 Jade Pavilions
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