Tatsumi-yagura watchtower (巽櫓) and Kikyou-bori moat (桔梗濠) during daytime. I uploaded a night-view of the same watchtower last month.

Fujimi-yagura (富士見櫓), another watchtower, is seen in the far left half hidden by trees.
The gate structure near Fujii-yagura is Kikyou-mon gate (桔梗門), after which the moat is named.

Tatsumi-yagura and Kikyou-mon belong to Sannomaru (三の丸) or the third compound of Edo Castle.

Tags:   東京都 Japan Chiyoda Edo Castle Imperial Palace architecture water moat 千代田区 江戸城 皇居

© All Rights Reserved

Hamaguri-bori moat (蛤濠) taken from a different angle with the stone walls of Ninomaru (二の丸) decorated with blooming cherry blossoms. Other trees are mostly Kuromatsu (Japanese black pine, Pinus thunbergii), an endemic pine species.

A photo taken in 1871 testifies there was a three-story watchtower that was called Hasuike Tatsumi-yagura (蓮池巽櫓) meaning the southeastern watchtower by the lotus pond. If it had survived, the view would have been even more stunning.

Ninomaru (二の丸) is one of the six compounds of Edo Castle, which was built to surround and protect Honmaru (本丸), the main compound.

Tags:   東京都 Japan Chiyoda Edo Castle architecture water moat flower cherry tree 千代田区 江戸城 皇居 Imperial Palace

© All Rights Reserved

Hamaguri-bori (蛤濠) is a section of the inner moat located to the east of Sakurada-mon (桜田門). There used to be a three-story watchtower at the corner of stonewalls in the right. It belongs to Ninomaru (二の丸) or the second compound of Edo Castle.

Sakashita-mon (坂下門) in the far left is a gate of the Nishinomaru compound of Edo Castle. It is supposed to have been built when it was developed in the first half of the 17th century. The gate was modified and moved slightly from the original location in 1887 to facilitate construction works for the new palace for Emperor Meiji in Nishinomaru.

Edo Castle is built on a hill overlooking the Sumida-gawa river and Tokyo Bay. Sakashita-mon is so called as it is located at “the bottom of the hill (Sakashita),” on which Nishinomaru Palace was built.

Green-roofed building is the office of Kunaichou (宮内庁) or Imperial Household Agency constructed in 1935.

Tags:   東京都 Japan Chiyoda Tokyo 千代田区 江戸城 皇居 Edo Castle Imperial Palace architecture castle flower

© All Rights Reserved

This is one of the most photographed places in Tokyo. The stone bridge in front and the iron bridge in the back were built for the access to the main gate leading to the Imperial Palace in the Ninomaru compound. Both bridges were built in western styles replacing the original wooden structures after Meiji Restoration. Still, this site best preserves how Edo Castle used to be during the Edo Period.

Nijuubashi (二重橋 double girder bridge) is the nickname of the iron bridge that is almost hidden by the stone bridge. Nijuubashi is also the nickname of the area that consists of the bridges, the moat and the main gate.

Emperor Meiji moved from Kyoto to live in Edo Castle after Meiji Restoration in 1868. He first settled in Nishinomaru Palace (西の丸御殿) of Edo Castle, which was burned down by a fire in 1873.

A new palace was completed on the same site in 1888, which was burned down by an air raid along with Oote-mon and Hanzou-mon gates in 1945.
The current palace was completed on the same site in 1968.

Tags:   東京都 Japan Chiyoda Edo Castle palace architecture bridge moat stone wall 千代田区 江戸城 皇居 Emperor's Palace

© All Rights Reserved

Close-up of the building that looks like a donjon, which is called Fushimi-yagura watchtower. It was so named as it was moved from now demolished Fushimi Castle in Kyoto.
Imperial Palace is located just behind Fushimi-yagura.
Edo Castle is now officially called Koukyo (皇居 imperial residence), and public access to this part of Koukyo is strictly restricted.

The family members of Emperor are the current residents of former Edo Castle. Ten'nou (天皇 celestial emperor) as we call him (many Japanese people do not know his given name) and translated to Emperor in English is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. He is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of Japanese state and the unity of Japanese people.

Ten'nou is known to be the oldest monarch in the world dating back probably to the 6th or 7th century A.D. Official chronicle/mythology claims the monarch was founded as old as 660 B.C., which is not supported by archaeologists. As such, Japan does not have an independence day.

His current status is defined according to the constitutional monarch model of Europe but there are many oddities if compared with the European counterparts.
He is strictly separated from politics. He is not allowed to comment on politics and even does not have the right to vote. He may be closer to Pope rather than kings and queens due to his symbolic role in Shintoism. He is believed to be a descendant of Shinto Goddess Amaterasu Oomikami and had been regarded as a living god (現人神) before WW II. In that sense, he may be like a lifetime Kumari Devi in Nepal.

He is translated to Emperor because the word meaning king (王) in East Asia assumes a local ruler in the Chinese feudal system, to which Japan has never belonged.

Tags:   東京都 Japan Chiyoda Edo Castle Imperial Palace architecture 千代田区 江戸城 皇居 castle

© All Rights Reserved