Imperial Palace ~ Travel

Monday 19 September 2011

Imperial Palace

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homesweethome

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A view of guard tower and East Gate to the Imperial Palace

Tokyo Imperial Palace (皇居, kōkyo; literally , "Imperial Residence"?) is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo close to Tokyo Station and contains several buildings including the main palace (Kyūden (宮殿?), the private residences of the imperial family, an archive, museum and administrative offices. It is built on the site of the old Edo castle. The total area including the gardens is 7.41 square kilometres (2.86 sq mi). During the height of the 1980s Japanese property bubble, the palace grounds were valued by some as more than the value of all the real estate in the state of California.

Chōwaden Reception Hall, the largest structure of the palace

Imperial Palace grounds

² Kyūden

The Imperial Palace (Kyūden (宮殿?)) and the headquarters of the Imperial Household Agency are located in the former Nishinomaru enceinte (West Citadel) of the Edo Castle.

Front entrance of the Chōwaden Reception Hall

The main buildings of the palace grounds , including the (Kyūden (宮殿?)) 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.

Hasuikebori lotus moat

The complex consists of seven wings, including:

Seiden State Function Hall

Hōmeiden State Banquet Hall

Chōwaden Reception Hall

Rensui Dining Room

Chigusa Chidori Drawing Room and

The Emperor's work office

Halls include the Minami-Damari, Nami-no-Ma, multiple Kairo, Kita-Kurumayose, Kita-Damari, Syakkyo-no-Ma, Shunju-no-Ma, Seiden-Sugitoe (Kaede), Seiden-Sugitoe (Sakura), Take-no-Ma, Ume-no-Ma and Matsu-no-Ma.

The (Kyūden (宮殿?)) is used for both receiving state guests and holding official state ceremonies and functions. The Matsu-no-Ma (Pine Chamber) is the throne room, the emperor gives audiences to the prime minister here as well as to newly appointed or departing ambassadors.

Fujimi-yagura (Mt Fuji-view keep), guard building within the inner grounds of the Imperial Palace

² 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 Ōmiya Palace (吹上大宮御所, Fukiage Ōmiya-gosho?) 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.[5]

The palace precincts include the Three Palace Sanctuaries (Kyūchūsanden, 宮中三殿). Parts of the Imperial Regalia of Japan are kept here and the sanctuary plays a religious role in imperial coronations and weddings.

Pond in the East Garden at the Imperial Palace

East Garden

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, a total of 210,000 m2 (2,300,000 sq ft). 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, 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 30 May 1963, the area was declared by the Japanese government a "Special Historic Relic" under the Cultural Properties Protection Law.

Tōkagakudō (Music Hall)

Tōkagakudō (Music Hall)

The Tōkagakudō (Peach Blossom Music Hall,桃華楽堂) 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 on 6 March 1963. The ferro-concrete building covers a total area of 1,254 m2 (13,500 sq ft). The hall is octahedron-shaped and each of its eight outer walls is decorated with differently designed mosaic tiles. Construction began in August 1964 and was completed in February 1966.

Ninomaru Garden

Symbolic trees representing each prefecture in Japan are planted in the northwestern corner of Ninomaru enceinte. Such trees have been donated from each prefecture and there are total of 260, covering 30 varieties.

Suwa no Chaya

The Suwa no Chaya is a teahouse that was located in the Fukiage Garden during the Edo period. It was moved to the Akasaka Detached Palace after the Meiji restoration but was reconstructed in its original location in 1912. It was moved to the present location with the construction of the East Garden.

Museum of the Imperial Collections, constructed in 1990s

Kitanomaru

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 Nippon Budokan Hall.

Music Department of the Board of Ceremonies

Kokyogaien

To the south are the large outer gardens of the Imperial Palace, which are also a public park and contain a bronze monument to Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa (北白川宮能久親王, Kitashirakawa-no-miya Yoshihisa-shinnō?).

Archives and Mausolea Department

Saineikan dojo for the guards

Panorama of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo

Map of the Imperial Palace and surrounding gardens

Double-bridge Nijūbashi leading to the main gate over the moats

It is the privilege of each new ambassador arriving at the palace to hand in his accreditation to the emperor to be picked up from Tokyo Station either in a limousine or the carriage. Although the carriage is not as comfortable as the modern limousine, most choose the carriage.