Kitanomaru Park
Kitanomaru Park is a public park in Chiyoda, central Tokyo, Japan, just north of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. It is the location of the Nippon Budokan indoor sports and performance venue, the Science Museum, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
History
Kitanomaru Park was originally the northernmost section of Edo Castle, known as the Kitanomaru. It was used as a medicinal garden and as a secure residential compound for members of the Tokugawa extended family. The park is almost encircled by deep moats and defensive fortifications from the original castle.Prior to 1969, when Kitanomaru Park was opened, this district had been called Daikanchō because many daikan lived in the place soon after the construction of Edo Castle. Today, the name Daikanchō is known more commonly as the name of an interchange of the Inner Circular Route of the Shuto Expressway.
Two gated entrances survive from time of Edo Castle, the Tayasu-mon and the Shimizu-mon. The Tayasu-mon was the northernmost gate of Edo Castle and consists of both a Korai-mon style outer gate and a Yagura-mon style fortified inner gatehouse, with highly stacked stone walls forming a narrow defensive courtyard between the two. An inscription on the outer side of the Tayasu-mon states the gate was constructed in 1685, making it one of the oldest surviving structures of the original castle.