Nijo Castle

Nijo was built from 1601 as the Tokugawa residence in Kyoto, a demonstration of the shogunate's authority a short distance from the imperial palace it overshadowed. The Ninomaru Palace is the reason to come: six connected buildings of over thirty rooms, with painted sliding screens by the Kano school, deeply carved transoms and gilded walls, arranged so that a visitor's rank determined how far in they were admitted and what they saw. The corridors are uguisubari, nightingale floors - the nails and clamps under the boards are set so that walking presses them together and produces a chirping sound, generally understood as a security measure, though whether that was intentional or a by-product of the joinery is argued. In the great hall in 1867 the last shogun announced the return of authority to the emperor, which ended 265 years of Tokugawa rule.

History

In 1601 Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, ordered the lords of western Japan to contribute to building Nijō Castle as the shoguns' residence in Kyoto, and it was completed under his grandson Iemitsu in 1626, with parts of Fushimi Castle moved here in 1625-1626. The keep burned after a lightning strike in 1750 and the inner ward in a citywide fire in 1788; in 1867 the Ninomaru Palace saw Tokugawa Yoshinobu return authority to the Imperial Court, in 1893 a prince's residence was moved from the Imperial Palace into the empty inner ward, and in 1939 the castle was given to the city of Kyoto and opened to the public the next year (Wikipedia, Nijō Castle).

What you'll find

• Ninomaru Palace - over thirty rooms with Kano school screens and carved transoms.
• Nightingale floors - corridors that chirp underfoot from the fixings below the boards.
• A hierarchy in plan - rooms arranged so rank decided how far a visitor was admitted.
• The 1867 hall - where the last shogun returned authority to the emperor.

When to go

Late March for cherry, November for maples. Two to three hours.

Things to know

Photography inside the palace is prohibited. The route is one-way and slow when busy. The main keep burned in 1750 and was never rebuilt - only its base remains. Timed entry applies in peak seasons.

Nearby

The Imperial Palace park is east; Kyoto station is south.

Key facts