Tokyo Imperial Palace


The Imperial Palace is the main residence of the emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings, including the Fukiage Palace, where the emperor has his living quarters; the main palace, where various ceremonies and receptions take place; some residences of the Imperial Family; an archive; and museums and administrative offices.
The palace grounds and gardens are built on the site of the old Edo Castle.

History

Edo castle

After the capitulation of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the inhabitants, including the Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, were required to vacate the premises of the Edo Castle. Leaving the Kyoto Imperial Palace on November 26, 1868, the Emperor arrived at the Edo Castle, made it to his new residence and renamed it to Tōkei Castle. At this time, Tōkyō had also been called Tōkei. He left for Kyōto again, and after coming back on May 9, 1869, it was renamed to Imperial Castle.
Previous fires had destroyed the Honmaru area containing the old donjon. On the night of May 5, 1873, a fire consumed the Nishinomaru Palace, and the new imperial Palace Castle was constructed on the site in 1888. The castle has many gardens.
A non-profit "Rebuilding Edo-jo Association" was founded in 2004 with the aim of a historically correct reconstruction of at least the main donjon. In March 2013, Naotaka Kotake, head of the group, said that "the capital city needs a symbolic building", and that the group planned to collect donations and signatures on a petition in support of rebuilding the tower. A reconstruction blueprint had been made based on old documents. The Imperial Household Agency at the time has not indicated whether it would support the project.

The old palace

In the Meiji period, most structures from the Edo Castle disappeared. Some were cleared to make way for other buildings, while others were destroyed by earthquakes and fire. For example, the wooden double bridges over the moat were replaced with stone and iron bridges. The buildings of the Imperial Palace constructed in the Meiji era were constructed of wood. Their design employed traditional Japanese architecture in their exterior appearance while the interiors were an eclectic mixture of fashionable Japanese and European elements. The ceilings of the grand chambers were coffered with Japanese elements; however, Western chairs, tables and heavy curtains furnished the spaces. The floors of the public rooms had parquets or carpets, while the residential spaces used traditional tatami mats.
The main audience hall was the central part of the palace. It was the largest building in the compound. Guests were received there for public events. The floor space was more than 223 tsubo or approximately. In the interior, the coffered ceiling was traditional Japanese-style, while the floor was parquetry. The roof was styled similarly to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, but was covered with copper plates rather than Japanese cypress shingles.
In the late Taishō and early Shōwa period, more concrete buildings were added, such as the headquarters of the Imperial Household Ministry and the Privy Council. These structures exhibited only token Japanese elements.
From 1888 to 1948, the compound was called Palace Castle. On the night of May 25, 1945, most structures of the Imperial Palace were destroyed in the Allied firebombing raid on Tokyo. According to the US bomber pilot Richard Lineberger, the Emperor's Palace was the target of their special mission on July 29, 1945, and was hit with 2000-pound bombs. In August 1945, in the closing days of the Pacific War, emperor Hirohito met with his Privy Council and made decisions culminating in the surrender of Japan at an underground air-raid shelter on the palace grounds referred to as His Majesty's Library.
Due to the large-scale destruction of the Meiji-era palace, a new main palace hall and residences were constructed on the western portion of the site in 1964–1968, designed by architect Junzō Yoshimura. The area was renamed Imperial Residence in 1948, while the eastern part was renamed East Garden and became a public park in 1968.
'''Interior images of the Meiji-era palace'''

Present palace

The present Imperial Palace encompasses the retrenchments of the former Edo Castle. The modern Kyūden designed for various imperial court functions and receptions is located in the old Nishinomaru section of the palace grounds. The kyūden was completed in 1968 and put into use in April 1969. It was built with the traditional Japanese architectural beauty of a large roof and columns and beams, and most of its building materials are of domestic origin. It has a total area of 24,175 square meters and consists of seven wings. On a much more modest scale, the Fukiage Palace, the official residence of the Emperor and empress, is located in the Fukiage Garden. Designed by Japanese architect Shōzō Uchii the modern residence was completed in 1993. The residence is currently in use by Emperor Naruhito.
Except for the Imperial Household Agency and the East Gardens, the main grounds of the palace are generally closed to the public, except for reserved guided tours from Tuesdays to Saturdays. Each New Year and Emperor's Birthday, the public is permitted to enter through the Nakamon where they gather in the Kyūden Totei Plaza. The Imperial Family appears on the balcony before the crowd and the Emperor normally gives a short speech greeting and thanking the visitors and wishing them good health and blessings. Parts of the Fukiage garden are sometimes open to the general public.
The old Honmaru, Ninomaru, and Sannomaru compounds now comprise the East Gardens, an area with public access containing administrative and other public buildings.
The Kitanomaru Park is located to the north and is the former northern enceinte of Edo Castle. It is a public park and is the site of the Nippon Budokan. To the south is Kokyo Gaien National Garden.
Though much of the site is off limits to the public, there have been multiple instances of tourists attempting to trespass on the palace grounds by swimming in the moat. In 2008, a British tourist stripped naked, repeatedly dove into and swam across the moat in an attempt to avoid being arrested, and used stones and a plastic pole as weapons when faced by staff and local police officers. A similar incident took place in 2013, in which two drunken tourists decided to try to sneak into the palace building after removing their clothing and entering the water near Sakurada Gate.

Grounds

Kyūden

The Imperial Palace and the headquarters of the Imperial Household Agency are located in the former Nishinomaru enceinte of the Edo Castle.
The main buildings of the palace grounds, including the Kyūden main palace, home of the liaison conference of the Imperial General Headquarters, were severely damaged by the fire of May 1945. Today's palace consists of multiple modern structures that are interconnected. The palace complex was finished in 1968 and was constructed of steel-framed reinforced concrete structures produced domestically, with two stories above ground and one story below. The buildings of the Imperial Palace were constructed by the Takenaka Corporation in a modernist style with clear Japanese architectural references such as the large, gabled hipped roof, columns and beams.
The complex consists of six wings, including:
Halls include the Minami-Damari, Nami-no-Ma, multiple corridors, Kita-Damari, Shakkyō-no-Ma, Shunju-no-Ma, Seiden-Sugitoe , Seiden-Sugitoe , Take-no-Ma, Ume-no-Ma and Matsu-no-Ma. Famous Nihonga artists such as Maeda Seison were commissioned to paint the artworks.
The Kyūden is used for both receiving state guests and holding official state ceremonies and functions. The Matsu-no-Ma is the throne room. The Emperor gives audiences to the Prime Minister in this room, as well as appointing or dismissing ambassadors and Ministers of State. It is also the room where the Prime Minister and Chief Justice are appointed to office.

Fukiage Garden

The Fukiage Garden has carried the name since the Edo period and is used as the residential area for the Imperial Family.
The Fukiage Palace, completed in 1993, was used as the primary residence of Akihito from December 8, 1993, to March 2020. After a period of refurbishment, Naruhito, Masako and Aiko moved in in September 2021.
The Fukiage Ōmiya Palace in the northern section was originally the residence of Emperor Showa and Empress Kōjun and was called the Fukiage Palace. After the Emperor's death in 1989, the palace was renamed the Fukiage Ōmiya Palace and was the residence of the Empress Dowager until her death in 2000. It is currently not in use.
The palace precincts include the Three Palace Sanctuaries. Parts of the Imperial Regalia of Japan are kept here and the sanctuary plays a religious role in imperial enthronements and weddings.

East Gardens

The East Gardens is where most of the administrative buildings for the palace are located and encompasses the former Honmaru and Ninomaru areas of Edo Castle, a total of. Located on the grounds of the East Gardens 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, structures for the guards such as the Saineikan dojo, and the Museum of the Imperial Collections.
Several structures that were added since the Meiji period were removed over time to allow construction of the East Garden. In 1932, the kuretake-ryō was built as a dormitory for imperial princesses, however this building was removed prior to the construction of the present gardens. Other buildings such as stables and housing were removed to create the East Garden in its present configuration.
Construction work began in 1961 with a new pond in the Ninomaru, as well as the repair and restoration of various keeps and structures from the Edo period. On May 30, 1963, the area was declared by the Japanese government a "Special Historic Relic" under the Cultural Properties Protection Law.