Introduction to Nijo-jo Castle

Higashi Ote-mon Gate (East Gate)

Important Cultural Property

This is the main gate to the Castle. It is thought to date back to 1662. When the castle was first built, the main gate was a yagura-mon (two-storey gate) much like the current one. The gate was altered for the visit of the Emperor to a one-storey gate, so that no-one would be able to look down upon the Emperor from above, a long-standing taboo in Japan.

Tonan Sumi-yagura (Southeast Watchtower)

Important Cultural Property

The watchtowers at the four corners of the outer moat of Nijo-jo Castle were built as lookouts, and were normally used as armories. Many of the watchtowers were destroyed in a fire in 1788, and today only the southeast and southwest watchtowers survive.

Minami-mon (South Gate)

After the enthronement ceremony of the Taisho Emperor in 1915 was performed at the Shishinden (the Hall of State of the Kyoto Imperial Palace), there was a celebratory banquet at Nijo-jo Castle. The South Gate was built for this occasion as an entrance for the Emperor, as until then there had been no southern entrance to Nijo-jo Castle.
Although several new structures were built for the banquet, these were relocated or removed immediately afterwards, and today the Minami-mon is all that remains.

Seinan Sumi-yagura (Southwest Watchtower) –

Important Cultural Property

One of the corner watchtowers constructed around 1626. Slightly smaller than the Tonan Sumi-yagura (Southeast watchtower), its characteristic feature is the elegant curves of the cusped gables (kara hafu) on the first storey roof (compare the triangular-shaped dormer gable, or chidori hafu, on the Tonan Sumi-yagura).
Nijo-jo Castle once featured a total of 9 such watchtowers, located at the four corners of the outer and inner moats and in the center of the north side of the outer moat.
Today, the Tonan Sumi-yagura and Seinan Sumi-yagura are the only watchtowers that remain.

Nishi-mon (West Gate)

Important Cultural Property

Built around 1626, this gate was used as the everyday entrance for Nijo-jo Castle during the Edo Period. With the destruction by fire in 1788 of the nearby Yagura-mon Gate, and the loss of the wooden bridge spanning the outer moat after the Meiji period, the Nishi-mon is all that now survives.

Kita Ote-mon (North Gate)

Important Cultural Property

The fact that the villa of the Kyoto Shoshidai, the Shogun’s deputy in Kyoto, was located across the road from the Kita Ote-mon suggests that this gate was the primary connecting route between the castle and the deputy. It has a certain grandeur as befits its status as the pair to the Higashi Ote-mon (East Gate) that serves as the castle’s main entrance. Although there has been a gate on this site since the time of the castle’s construction in 1603, it is unknown whether the current structure dates to that period or was rebuilt at the time of the Imperial Visit in 1626.

Ban-sho(Guardhouse)

Although a guardhouse is depicted in this location in an illustrated portrayal of the Imperial Visit of 1626, the current structure is known to have been built in 1663. In peace time, the castle was guarded night and day by samurai known as the Nijo Zaiban who were dispatched to Nijo-jo Castle by the Shogunate.
Two groups of fifty guards each were permanently stationed at the castle, and this guardhouse served as one of their barracks. Although a total of 9 guardhouses were once located around the castle precinct (including in front of the Kara-mon Gate, near the Kita Ote-mon (north gate)), and the Nishi-mon (west gate), this is the only one that remains today. This guardhouse is very important because there are so few extant examples of guardhouses in Japan. There are other examples at Edo-jo Castle (Tokyo) and Marugame-jo Castle (Kagawa Prefecture).

Kara-mon Gate

Important Cultural Property

The Kara-mon Gate stands at the entrance to the Ninomaru-goten Palace. Gate architecture is used to indicate status, with the Karamon gate representing the highest status, indicated by the cusped gable to the front and back of the roof, and the use of cypress bark rather than copper or tile for the roofing. The gate has four supporting pillars, and has magnificent and brilliantly colored carvings of cranes, pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms, symbolizing longevity. The carved lions protect the Palace. A 2013 restoration returned the gate to its former glory.

Ninomaru-goten Palace

National Treasure

The Palace consists of six connected buildings arranged in a diagonal line from the southeast to the northwest. The Palace has 33 rooms and over 800 tatami mats, and is decorated with paintings by the Kano School (replicas). Subjects include the Matsutaka-zu (pine and hawk), tigers, and leopards, all of which stress the authority of the Shogun, as well as cherry blossoms and other flowers representing the four seasons.

Ninomaru Garden

Special Place of Scenic Beauty

The Ninomaru Garden was redesigned by Kobori Enshu, the commissioner of works for the 1626 Imperial Visit. It is a classical Shoin-zukuri style garden, with a large Horai-jima island (symbolizing Paradise) flanked by a crane island and a turtle island, both metaphors for longevity. The garden was redesigned to be viewed from three different directions: from the Ohiroma and Kuro-shoin of the Ninomaru-goten Palace, and from the Gyoko-goten Palace (dismantled).

Momoyama-mon Gate –

Important Cultural Property

This gate defends the approach to the Honmaru Yagura-mon Gate on the south side, and forms a pair with the Naruko-mon Gate on the north side. Although depicted as a large structure in an illustration of the Imperial Visit of 1626, it is thought that this structure may have been remodeled later to its current form.

Minami Nakashikiri-mon Gate

Important Cultural Property

This gate is a pair to the Kita Nakashikiri-mon Gate on the north side of the inner moat. Approximately the same size, it was built around 1626. This important defensive gate blocks the approach to the Honmaru Nishi Yagura-mon Gate, which was destroyed in a fire in 1788.

South Dozo (Earthen storehouse for rice)

Important Cultural Property

This dozo forms a pair with the North Dozo on the other side of the Honmaru West Bridge. Its construction dates to around 1626.
Although there are currently only three earthen storehouses located on the castle grounds, ten such buildings existed during the Edo period. Nijo-jo Castle is the only castle that has surviving dozo earthen storehouses. While the purpose of earthen storehouses was to store grain, a unique characteristic of castles is that some storehouses were also used to store weapons. An illustration from the Kan’ei era (1624–1644) depicts two such buildings for storing saltpeter used for matchlock firearms and another for storing match cords, though neither of these survives today.

North dozo (Earthen storehouse for rice)

Important Cultural Property

This dozo complements another located to the south on the other side of the Honmaru West Bridge. Its construction dates to around 1626. There are windows on the northern, eastern, and western sides of the storehouse. Although there are currently only three dozo located on the castle grounds, ten such buildings existed during the Edo period. Nijo-jo Castle is the only castle with surviving dozo earthen storehouses. While the purpose of dozo normally was to store grain, a unique characteristic of castles is that some storehouses were also used to store weapons. An illustration from the Kan’ei era (1624-1644) depicts two such buildings for storing saltpeter used for matchlock firearms and another for storing match cords, though none of these survive today.

Kita Nakashikiri-mon Gate

Important Cultural Property

This gate is the pair of the Minami Nakashikiri-mon Gate on the south side of the inner moat. Approximately the same size, it was built around 1626. This important defensive gate guards the approach to the Honmaru Nishi Yagura-mon Gate (destroyed in a fire in 1788).

Naruko-mon Gate

Important Cultural Property

This gate defends the passage to the Honmaru Yagura-mon Gate on the north side, complementing the Momoyama-mon Gate to the south. It dates to about 1626. The gate is a shikyaku-mon (four-legged gate) because it has four support pillars, located on its front and rear sides. The support pillars on the gate’s front side are set into the wall, so that it does not appear at first glance to be a shikyaku-mon. Since it would be a simple matter to demolish the gate by destroying these front support pillars, it is thought that the outward jut of the front pillars was minimized to compensate for this weak point. Although somewhat unassuming, this gate is architecturally unique. The use of shikyaku-mon is rare in castles, and the only other example of such a structure in Nijo-jo Castle is the
Kara-mon Gate.

Honmaru Yagura-mon Gate

Important Cultural Property

Built around 1626, this gate, and the Honmaru Nishi Yagura-mon Gate, (destroyed in a fire in 1788), functioned as important defensive gates for the main keep (Honmaru). Constructed so that its wooden bridge could be easily collapsed in the event of war to prevent the enemy from crossing, the gate doors are covered with copper plates to defend against firearm attack. The Honmaru was designed to withstand siege, being provided with a well and rice granaries. The holes visible in the earthwork walls were used for the firing of rifles. The Emperor climbed the keep tower on two occasions at the time of the Imperial Visit in 1626. The Emperor walked from the Ninomaru-goten Palace along the tatami mat floor of the second storey of a wooden bridge that connected all the way to the keep tower, provided so that his feet never had to touch the ground. Emperor Go-Mizuno-o is reputed to be the only emperor ever to climb a castle tower. Although a part of this bridge survived until around 1930, it was afterwards dismantled; many of its constituent parts are stored in the dozo (earthen storehouse).

Honmaru-goten Palace

Important Cultural Property

The present Honmaru-goten Palace was moved here inside the inner moat of the Nijo-jo Castle in 1893, from the Katsura-no-miya Palace, which stood in the northeast section of the grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. It is a very rare survival of the palace architectural style of an imperial princely family, and, as such, has been designated as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. The Honmaru Garden to the south of the Palace was created on the occasion of a visit by the Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and later redesigned. Pathways winding through the lawns and a hill in the southeast corner provide pleasant backdrops to enjoy the changing of the seasons.

Honmaru-goten Gardens

The present Honmaru-goten Palace was moved here inside the inner moat of the Nijo-jo Castle in 1893, from the Katsura-no-miya Palace, which stood in the northeast section of the grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. It is a very rare survival of the palace architectural style of an imperial princely family, and, as such, has been designated as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. The Honmaru Garden to the south of the Palace was created on the occasion of a visit by the Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and later redesigned. Pathways winding through the lawns and a hill in the southeast corner provide pleasant backdrops to enjoy the changing of the seasons.

The base of the keep tower

A five-storey keep tower, with 6 floors inside, used to stand at the south-west corner of the Honmaru. The keep tower was moved here from the Fushimi Castle in southern Kyoto. In 1750, the tower was struck by lightning and burned down. It was not rebuilt, but the stone ramparts on which it previously stood still remain and provide expensive views of the Honmaru-goten Palace, Honmaru Gardens, and the city of Kyoto.

Seiryu-en Garden

This garden was laid out in 1965, using some of the buildings, trees, and stones from the garden of the Kyoto mansion of the wealthy Suminokura merchant family. Seiryu-en Garden is a fusion of Eastern and Western styles.
The Japanese garden features two teahouses, the Koun-tei and the Waraku-an, and is complemented by the lawns of the Western-style garden.

Waraku-an

This teahouse resulted by moving to this location an existing teahouse from the former Suminokura Ryoi residence in Kyoto’s Takasegawa Ichino Funairi, and expanding it by combining it with another teahouse. The latter was gifted by the Omotesenke school of tea, and was modelled after the famous teahouse Zangetsu-tei (lit. dawn moon pavilion), so named because warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi is said to have enjoyed the dawn moon from the building. Come autumn, Waraku-an hosts the annual grand tea ceremony, which is open to the public. At other times, it serves as a rest area, where the visiting public can enjoy tea.

Koun-tei

This teahouse was moved from the former Suminokura Ryoi residence. Visitors can see its south elevation from the garden. It is normally closed to the public, but for limited periods in summer and winter, it is used as a dining venue. It also hosts weddings.

Dozo (Earthen Storehouse for rice )

Important Cultural Property

Although storehouses once surrounded the Daidokoro (kitchen) of the Ninomaru-goten Palace on its north and east sides, the eastern storehouse was removed at the end of the Meiji period, so that today only the northern storehouse remains, measuring 23.5 ken (approx. 46 m).
The west side of the easternmost storeroom is equipped with a gatehouse.
While there are now only three earthen storehouses on the castle grounds, ten such buildings existed during the Edo period.
Nijo-jo Castle is the only Japanese castle with extant dozo earthen storehouses. All three　of the surviving buildings were used for storing rice.

Daidokoro (Kitchen) / Okiyodokoro (Kitchen)

Important Cultural Property

While there was a Daidokoro at the time of the castle’s original construction, the current structure is thought to have been constructed at the time of the Imperial Visit in 1626. This building features both a wide packed-earth floor (doma) and a wooden plank floor. The smoke louver that can still be seen in the roof indicates that a stove and sink were once present in one corner of the room. The Nijo-jo Daidokoro is one of the largest such buildings in Japan, even when compared with temple kitchens, and the sheer expanse of the internal space, including the earthen floor and wooden plank floor together, is unparalleled.
The Okiyodokoro is situated to the south of the Daidokoro, and in the Edo period was known as the On-ryori-no-ma (literally “the cooking room”). The room features a Japanese open hearth (irori) the size of four tatami mats, and we know that this was used to warm and prepare food for the castle. The Nijo-jo Castle is the only castle in Japan in which both the Daidokoro and Okiyodokoro remain extant.

Nijo-jo Castle Painting Gallery

The original wall paintings from the Ninomaru-goten Palace are on display here, allowing visitors to view the paintings up close. The exhibitions change quarterly, and the museum is open 240 days a year.