Tokyo Imperial Palace

Tokyo imperial palace was known as Edo castle before it got damaged and part of it demolished in civil wars between the 15th and 18th century. Edo is the previous name of Tokyo and it precisely means "Bay- entrance", and it's the period where this city especially grew economically well to become one of the largest cities in the world during the Edo period. Also during the Edo period the Japanese studied the western science along with their techniques.

 

Picture of the palace of the bridge which leads to the main gate (left: 1945,right: 2005)

Edo period (1603 to 1868)

Edo castle ran into a lot of renovation and reconstructions to be the present imperial palace. It was built in 1457 by Ota Dokan, who was a Japanese samurai warrior-poet, military tactician, Buddhist monk and known as the best architect and builder of Edo castle. It's located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Before castles in Japan were built to shelter refugees, but then changed to the home of garrisons and to hold against fire arms when they appeared for the first time in Japan. Dokan has strategically built the castle on top of a hill surrounded by water from three sides, but he ordered to dig a moat on the fourth side of the castle and it got completely surrounded by water and swamps that made it tough to lead an attack against the castle.

Dokan was assassinated by one of his leaders fearing his growth in power; as he tried to pull the dagger off his chest he cited the last poem, in Japanese:

 "Kakaru toki sakoso inochi no

oshikarame kanete nakimi to omoishirazuba."

  

In English: "Had I not known that I was dead already, I would

 have mourned the loss of my life."(Dokan,1486). 

 The castle was abandoned after Dokan's death in August 25, 1486 and later in 1590; Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo Castle his base after he was offered eight eastern provinces. Soon he became one of the strong politicians in Japan and made the castle the center of his operations. Most construction of the castle started in 1593 and completed in 1636 under the grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu.

The daimyo were the powerful territorial lords who ruled most of the country from their vast inherited land holdings. They were ordered by the Tokugawa leader to contribute in rebuilding the castle to keep their powers in check, and since he was the strongest man at that time; everyone raced to impress him. More than 300,000 men were involved in constructing the new castle. The castle was built with materials like granite stone and wood. Huge stones were shipped from western Japan to Edo due to not finding the suitable stones to build the walls of the castle around the area. It took four years of labor  to finish the new castle.

Meiji Period (Meiji restoration 1868 - 1912)

The castle passed down to the last heir of Tokugawa until the the Meiji Restoration took place in Japan. Meiji is a name given to the emperor during the period he ruled, and it means "Enlightenment "and his real name was Mutsuhito. Meiji led a movement in Japan in an effort of restoring the imperial rule. He left Kyoto imperial palace heading towards Edo castle; after occupation of the castle he renamed it Tokyo castle in 1868 and it was renamed imperial palace in 1869. In this period the emperor was restored to the throne and Tokyo became the capital of Japan. Basic human rights were established including religious freedom. By 1889, Japan had its first Western style constitution. Japan experienced westernization where some part of it converts some customs to US or European nations. Industrial power prospered and to back it up, scholars were sent to western countries to study. Yoshihito ascended the throne after the death of Emperor Meiji; as soon as he claimed the imperial rule, the country was engulfed into the flames of the First World War.

Present Time

Today, the castle is considered as a historic site and place that has a lot of memories and became a lesson to learn from for the new generation. The site still has buildings of the former Edo Castle and it is yet the residence of the present emperor that lies in the Fukiage Gardens. Every year on the 2nd of January Japan commemorate the birthday of the emperor where the public is allowed to get near the imperial household. On the 1st of January a poetry convention called Utakai Hajime is held at the palace.

The Kitanomaru Park is located to the north and is the former northern fortress wall of Edo Castle; it is a public park that has the Martial Art Hall; initially an indoor arena made for judo but nowadays its used for hosting music concerts a number of famous bands and singers sung there like The Beatles, Backstreet Boys and others. Other events that are held there, one of them is the national ceremony to mourn the people who died during the Second World War.

Museum of the Imperial Collections

The East Garden is where most of the administrative buildings for the palace are located and encompasses the former Honmaru and Ninomaru areas of Edo Castle. Located on the grounds of the East Garden is the Imperial Tokagakudo Music Hall, the Music Department of the Board of Ceremonies of the Imperial Household, the Archives and Mausolea Department Imperial Household Agency.

The Tōkagakudō Music Hall is located to the east of the former main donjon of Edo Castle in the Honmaru. This music hall was built in commemoration of the 60th birthday of Empress Kojun. The Suwa no Chaya is a teahouse that was located in the Fukiage Garden during the Edo period and was moved to another place during the Meiji period but then again was restored in the present castle.

Tōkagakudō Music Hall

Suwa no Chaya  (teahouse)

In the past the castle used to be a base of operations during the war and place where political figures met to discuss the future of Japan. Before the grounds of the castle had warriors who trained to defend it from war. Now it has gardens and all around greenery, also some areas of the castle are open to the public. For many years this place was used to issue orders to spill the blood of the Japanese and non-Japanese. Today it is a museum and people go there to remember their ancestors and it's a place to relax.

Here are some pictures of the Garden:

References:

Edo Castle. (2013, October 31). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 7, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_Castle

Murasaka, A. (2006, October 20). Edo Castle. Edo Castle. Retrieved November 7, 2013, from http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/837886

Ōta Dōkan. (2013, August 26). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 7, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ōta_Dōkan

Fitzgerald, K. (2005, August 25). Find A Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records and Online Memorials. Find A Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records and Online Memorials. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11638462

Christensen, M. (n.d.). The Meiji Era and the Modernization of Japan. The Meiji Era and the Modernization of Japan. Retrieved November 14, 2013, from http://www.samurai-archives.com/tme.html

Japanese          Geography. (n.d.). Geography. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from http://www.lakelandschools.us/lh/modonnell/virtualjapan/geography.htm

 

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