Nijo+Castle

The Nijo Castle was built in 1603 as a residence for Tokugawa Leyasu, who was the first shogun of the Edo period. His grandson Lemitsu completed the rest of the castle's buildings 23 years later and expanded the castle by adding a five story castle keep. After the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the palace was used as a imperial palace before being donated to the city and becoming a historical site. The buildings in the palace are known by some as the best survived palace of the Feudal era.

The Nijo Castle is divided up into three parts. The Honmaru is the main circle of defense; the Ninomaru, which is the secondary circle of defense; and last, the gardens that surround the palace. The castle is also surrounded by stone walls and moats. When visitors enter the palace, they enter through a gate on the east. One of the buildings served to the shogun as an office and place to stay during his visits to Kyoto. The room is very luxurious and has nicely decorated ceilings and walls. Outside of the palace are many gardens and traditional Japanese ponds and landscape.

The Honmaru was home of the five-story castle keep and other palace complex. Sadly, on our trip we will not see these structures because they were destroyed in a fire in the 18th century and were never rebuilt. This palace is usually not open to the public. Both palaces are surrounded by much plant life, like cherry trees, plum orchards, and maple and ginkgo trees.