After the defeat of the Shogunate who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867, the inhabitants of Edo Castle, including the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, were forced to vacate the premises. The emperor relocated from Kyoto to Edo Castle in 1868 and renamed it Tokei Castle. On May 5th, 1873, a fire destroyed the Nishinomaru Palace (formerly the shogun’s residence), and the new Imperial Palace Castle was constructed on the site in 1888.
From 1888 to 1948, the compound was called Palace Castle. On the evening of May 25th, 1945 a majority of the structures of the Palace Castle were destroyed by the Allied fire-bombing raid. It was from the basement of the concrete library that Emperor Hirohito declared the surrender of Japan on August 15th, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. Due to the large-scale destruction of the palace, a new main palace hall and residences were constructed on the western portion of the site in the 1960s. The area was renamed Imperial Residence (Kokyo) in 1948 while the eastern part was renamed East Garden (Higashi-Gyoen) which became a public park in 1968.
Except for Imperial Household Agency and the East Gardens (Higashi-Gyoen), the palace is generally closed to the public. On each New Year (January 2) and during the Emperor’s Birthday (December 23), the public is permitted to enter through the Nakamon (inner gate) where they gather in the Kyuden Totei Plaza in front of the Chowaden Hall. The Imperial family appears on the balcony before the gathered crowd and the emperor delivers a short speech greeting and thanking the visitors and wishing them good health and blessings.
The Nakamon (Inner Gate)
Meganebashi
From Kokyo Gaien, the large plaza in front of the Imperial Palace, visitors can view the Nijubashi, two bridges that form an entrance to the inner palace grounds. The stone bridge in front is called Meganebashi (Eyeglass Bridge) for it resembles a pair of spectacles. The bridge in the back was formerly a wooden bridge with two levels, from which the name Nijubashi is derived.
East Garden signage
The outer perimeter of the castle with surrounding moat
Although many are not in existence today, the inner citadels of Edo Castle were protected by multiple large and small wooden gates , constructed in between the gaps of the stone wall surrounding it. From south to southwest to north, the main gates are Nijubashi, Sakuradamon, Sakashitamon, Kikyomon, Hanzomon, Inuimon, Otemon, Hirakawamon and Kitahanebashimon. At the Otemon gate, there once stood a guard of 120 men, while the smaller gates were guarded by 30 to 70 armed men.
Sign for Otemon gate
Otemon Gate
Imperial Palace contrast with modern Tokyo which surrounds it
The Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle, is well known for an assassination which took place there, known as the The Sakuradamon Incident. Ii Naosuke, the Japanese Chief Minister and a proponent of the reopening of Japan after more than 200 years of seclusion, was widely criticized for signing the 1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States and similar treaties with other Western countries. The ports of Nagasaki, Hakodate and Yokohama were opened to foreign traders as a consequence of the Treaties. Naosuke also made strong enemies in the dispute for the succession of Shogun Tokugawa Iesada.
Signage for Sotosakuradamon gate
The assassination took place just as Ii Naosuke was reaching the castle. He had been warned about his safety, and many encouraged him to retire from office, but he refused, replying that “My own safety is nothing when I see the danger threatening the future of the country”.
Ii Naosuke was ambushed by 17 men and a samurai named Arimura Jisaemon. Arimura cut Ii Naosuke’s neck and then committed seppuku.
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