Strolling the Grounds of an Emperor: Tour Guide of Tokyo's Imperial Palace

Last time, I wrote a brief history about the emperors throughout Japan's history and the history of Edo Castle, which was the predecessor to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo here.

The Emperor moved to the Imperial Palace in the 10th month on the 23rd day of 1868 (Remember Japan would still be operating under the lunar calendar at this time).  During that time Edo Castle was renamed to Tokyo Castle.  However, in 1869 it was again renamed to Imperial Castle (皇城, Kōjō).  While 1868 was when the site of Edo Castle officially turned from the shogun's castle to the imperial palace, 1873 might have been the final symbolic change of the change in residence.  May 5th, 1873 was the final of many fires to plague the old Edo Castle.  This time, the fire had destroyed the shogun's official residence, and at this point most of the buildings from the days of Edo Castle had disappeared.  Even today, the only reminders of Edo Castle are in the walls, the base of the main keep and a few of the towers that have survived.  The final symbolic transfer of the Edo Castle to the Imperial Palace was the construction of the Imperial Castle on the old site of the shogun's residence, completed in 1888.  The buildings at this time were an eclectic mix of popular European fashions at the time and tradition Japanese elements.  However, in World War II, much of the palace was again lost to fire in the air raids that happened at the end of the war.

After the war, the lands of the imperial palace were handed over to the state as required by the new constitution enacted in 1947. [1]  Some of these lands are granted to the use of the emperor and imperial family through the Imperial Household Agency.  With most of the palace damaged or destroyed in World War II, a new main building was built.  The main hall was completed in October of 1968 and opened in April of 1970 for use.  The new palace is made of the Seiden, or main hall and connects to 6 wings, the most important being Homei-Den, Rensui, Chowa-Den, Chigusa-no-Ma and Chidori-no-Ma. [2]  The current palace is made using modern architecture with traditional Japanese architecture and elements included.  It's a 2 story steel framed building with an underground floor as well. [3]  The main hall is now basically used to receive state guests, hold state ceremonies and official functions including meetings between the Emperor and the Prime Minister and other ambassadors. [4]  Today, the palace makes up 7.41 square kilometers. [5]  Actually in the bubble years of Japan's economy in the late 1980s, it was thought that the Imperial Palace Grounds were worth more than the entire state of California (423,970 square kilometers). [6]  While the palace itself is off-limits most of the year, the rest of the grounds are open to the public and there are some great places to go, especially during the different blossom seasons.

The map of the Imperial Palace. [7]

The western parts of the palace are the parts that are off-limits for most of the year.  This includes the palace buildings and the Fukiage Gardens.  The rest of the palace grounds are open to the public.  Here's a tour.


The public space to the palace is comprised of 3 main parks.  These are the Kokyogaien, the Kokyo Higashi Gyoen and the Kitanomaru.  They are the outer gardens, the eastern gardens and the northern park respectively.  While the palace grounds now are quite smaller than at the height of Edo Castle, the inner moat still surrounds the palace grounds.  For this tour I won't be talking about the Kitanomaru Park, as it is relatively removed from the rest of the palace.  

A map showing the 3 main parks and their location better. [8]

Here's a map I have made for the Imperial Palace Tour:



View Tokyo Imperial Palace Tour Map in a larger map


Heading to the Kokyogaien (皇居外苑) part of the palace is to the south and is some of the most open green spaces here.  This area is famous for the many black pines planted in the area, as well as the Nijubashi bridges and the Main Gate to the palace are here as well.

1. Sakuradamon (桜田門)
This spot is the largest remaining gate of the Imperial Palace and a popular entry point to the palace grounds.  Sakuradamon means Cherry Field Gate.  Like the other gates, there are two gates to the gate, with a bridge over the moat leading to the first gate and then a 90 degree angle turn to access the second gate, making the siege of the second gate even more deadly than that of the first.

Sakuradamon from afar on the approach.

Bridge and first gate.

A detail of the roof of the tower to the second gate (to the right of the previous picture).  The ornament on the top is called Shachihoko (鯱), which is a mythological half tiger / half carp animal.  They are thought to bring rain and also to spray water at any fire they see.  Therefore, on castles and towers there are often two of them, one on each side of the roofline to protect the building from fire.

The inner gate to Sakuradamon set at a 90 degree angle to the outer one for defense.  You can see the Shachihoko's pair in the upper left.

Looking back at the inner gate from inside Kokyogaien.

This gate is also the site of the famous Sakuradamon Incident of 1860, which saw the assassination of Ii Naosuke on March 24th, in front of the Sakurada Gate.  He was assassinated by ronin (masterless samurai), because of his pro-foreign interaction, pro-shogunate ideas which were unpopular by many at the time.  His signing of treaties opening Japan to foreign trade and expelling many of his political opponents during his time as Japan's Chief Minister were his most unpopular.  This incident not only forced the shogunate to compromise more to the opposition, but also enabled more violence amongst the shogunate's opponents against pro-shogunate forces, eventually leading to the Meiji Revolution.

2. Statue of Kusunoki Masashige (楠木 正成)
To the southeast of Kokyogaien and the Imperial Palace is a large statue of Kusunoki Masashige.

The statue of Kusunoki Masashige.

Like the other statues in the Imperial Palace, Masashige Kusunoki is a legendary figure who aided the emperors at some point in their history.  Masashige Kusunoki (1294-1336) helped Emperor Go-Daigo.  If you remember from the last post, I wrote about Emperor Go-Daigo who fought against the Hōjō Shogunate and with the help of Takauji Ashikaga defeated them, but later lost the ensuing power struggle against Takauji Ashikaga.  During this time, Masashige Kusunoki became the epitome of loyalty to the Emperor.

In 1331, Masashige Kusunoki had answered the Emperor's call to fight the Hōjō. [9]  As would become common practice for the rest of his life, he supported the Emperor regardless of odds, and those odds were almost always decidely against him as little other support came to the emperor during this time.  His first assignment was to fortify Akasaka, which was a hill near the current Emperor's palace, however during his time there wasn't much of anything there.  Severely outnumbered, he was still able to kill large amounts of the enemy until they captured the water supply to his fort.  Even after this situation in which defeat was only a mater of time, Masashige still escaped by faking his death, burning the castle down and escaping to fight another day. [10]


After a few smaller battles in the next year, Masashige would again be assigned to a new castle to defend.  Masashige would defend Chihaya, while Prince Morinaga would defend Yoshino and another general would again defend the hills of Akasaka.  By March however, Yoshino and Akasaka would fall leaving Masashige Kusunoki by himself again. The fort of Chihaya was not only a much stronger fortress, but Masashige had time to prepare its defense.  The presence of an internal well would also prevent the problems that happened last time. [11]  This time the armies of Hōjō had lost even more men trying to attack the castle, exasperbated by the Shogun's demands to attack the castle for a speedy conclusion instead of a general siege.  This order might have been pressured by the increasing amount of troops being recruited by Prince Morinaga and the recently escaped Emperor Go-Daigo.  Their efforts no doubt being helped by the successful defense of Chihaya. [12]  This would set up the outcome of the rest of the war between the Emperor and the Hōjō Shogunate.  A large reinforcing army was sent under the leadership of Takauji Ashikaga.  Commanding the most powerful army and with all other troops tied up in the attack on Chihaya, Takauji decided to revolt and instead captured Kyoto for the Emperor Go-Daigo.  His capturing of Kyoto and Nitta Yoshida's turning against the Hōjō Shogunate as well and invading Kamakura ended the Shogunate once and for all. [13]


The conflict was not over however as quickly Takauji and the Emperor Go-Daigo would fight in the ensuing power struggle.  Masashige Kusunoki would be called upon again to help the side of the Emperor.  By this time, Yoshida Nitta would be the lead general and wanted to attack Takauji directly, while Masashige wanted to vacate Kyoto and go to Mt. Hiei while harassing Takauji's troops until a battle would be in their favor. [14]  Unfortunately, the Emperor sided with Yoshida Nitta and Masashige Kusunoki out of loyalty went to battle, even though he was sure it would be his death.  The deployment of the loyalist forces left Masashige in an even worse situation, as he was set up along the western embankment where support could be easily cut off.  This would be exactly what happened in the battle.  When the army of Takauji attacked, the other troops in the loyalist army panicked leaving Masashige alone in battle for one last time.  His 700 men forced to face the whole of Takauji's army left them in an unwinnable position, and after 6 hours of fighting with the battle lost, Masashige Kusunoki and his followers would commit suicide. [15]


3. Nijubashi (二重橋)
Nijubashi is Japan's most famous pair of bridges, first built in 1888.  Nijubashi means Double Bridge, because when looked at from the front, the bridges look like they are one 2 storied bridge.  The first bridge is of stone and the 2nd of steel.  The 2nd bridge was originally a wooden bridge, but was rebuilt with steel in 1964.  

4. Main Gate (正門)
Seimon is the main gate to the Imperial Palace and is the gate at the end of the first of Nijubashi's bridges.  This gate is normally closed, except for special palace functions and is also the entrance to the public for the special events on December 23rd and January 2nd, the Emperor's birthday and Emperor's New Year Speech to the Public.  This is the only time the palace is open to the public, and people enter through only this way.

The Main Gate opened for the Emperor's New Year speech to the public.

A closer view.

5. Fushimi Yagura (伏見櫓)
Fushimi Yagura is the keep near Nijubashi that was a part of Edo Castle, after being taken from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto.  This keep is no longer in use and is not a part of the main palace itself.  It is a pretty tower and makes a nice backdrop for pictures of Nijubashi as you can see above.

6. Black Pine Forest 
Most of the rest of the area of Kokyogaien is a forest of planted black pine trees.  These trees use to naturally grow in this area.  In the past the area that makes up Kokyogaien were the beaches of an inlet to Tokyo Bay, in which these black pines naturally grew.  It would be hard to believe that this area was originally an inlet of the bay, however this was before Edo Castle.  Dokan Ota while building Edo Castle, also redirected many of the rivers in the area.  This not only made the moats for the castle, but also changed the landscape and made this area no longer an inlet.  These trees were replanted here in 1888 and today there are about 2,000 of them. [16]

7. Kikyōmon (桔梗門)
This gate is one of the few remaining from the Ninomaru, which was the palace for heir-apparents to the Tokugawa Shoguns.  This gate is also off-limits to the public, however on December 23rd and January 2nd this is the gate that is used by the public to leave the palace.

From the outside of Kikyōmon in the Kokyogaien.

On the inside during the Emperor's New Year's Speech event.

A closer look.

8. Fujimi Yagura (富士見櫓)

Meaning Mt. Fuji Viewing Keep, this keep was the most important keep for most of the life of Edo Castle.  It is also known as All Front Sided Castle, as it looks the same from every side.  When it was a part of Edo Castle, it was thought that Mt. Fuji could have been seen from the keep at one point, hence its name.  This became the main castle after the main castle was destroyed in the fire of 1657 and served that role for the rest of Edo Castle's existence.  The largest and most impressive of the remaining keeps, it can be seen from inside the East Garden or when exiting the palace when it is open on December 23rd and January 2nd.

9. Sakurada Yagura (桜田櫓)

Also known as Tatsumi Yagura (巽櫓), it is the only keep remaining in the eastern area of the Imperial Palace.  It is easy to spot as it borders the moat all the way to the east near Kikyōmon.

Sakurada Yagura next to the moat.

Looking at it from the side, across from the moat.

10. Ōtemon (大手門)

Meaning Great Hand Gate, this was the main gate to Edo Castle.  Ōtemon was originally built in the 1620s by Hidetada Tokegawa, the 2nd Shogun.  During the Edo Era, Ōtemon was damaged or destroyed several times.  It was destroyed in 1657 by fire and damaged in 1703 and 1855 by earthquakes, but was rebuilt / repaired each time. In the Meiji Era, the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake saw further damage to the gate where the keep was lost and the walls on both sides needed to be rebuilt.  Finally, like most of the rest of the Imperial Palace, this area was burnt down at the end of World War II.  Ōtemon was rebuilt in 1965-1967.  Today, this is the main gate the public uses to enter the Eastern Garden of the Imperial Palace.

The front entrance across the moat.

Looking back out from inside the 1st gate.

The 2nd Gate.

11. Guardhouses (Dōshin-bansho, Hyakunin-bansho and Ō-bansho) 

These are three of the few remaining structures inside the walls of the palace from the Edo Castle days.  These guardhouses would have samurai guardsmen, that would protect and watch over the main walk-way to Edo Castle.  These building are right on the path leading from Ōtemon, so people would have to pass by these building on their way.  

Dōshin-bansho (同心番所). The first guardhouse along the path from Ōtemon. 

The second visible guardhouse is the Hyakunin-bansho (百人番所).  Its name meaning 100 Person Guardhouse.  The name comes from the fact this guardhouse had 100 samurai posted here to inspect all people entering Edo Castle.  This was the largest guardhouse of Edo Castle.

Ō-bansho (大番所), meaning large guardhouse is the last guardhouse before Edo Castle.  It is past the large stone walls opposite the Hyakunin-bansho.  Being the last checkpoint before the castle and being behind the large stone wall defenses of the inner castle area, this was one of the most important guardhouses in Edo Castle.  I unfortunately don't have a picture of this one, but have a picture of the stone walls that lie in front of it.

12. Edo Castle Base (Tenshukaku Donjon, 天守閣)
This stone foundation base is all that remains of the original Edo Castle, the tallest castle in Japan for the 19 years it existed before being burnt down.  While the 11 meter base is tall and impressive in itself, try to imagine what it would be like with the 51 meter, 5 story castle on top of it.  It would still tower over this area of Tokyo even today if it existed.

13. Tōkagakudō (桃華楽堂)
Tōkagakudō means Peach Blossom Music Hall.  This hall is very close to the Edo Castle Base and really can't be missed from there.  It is the building with the interesting mosaics and architecture that looks very different than any other building in the palace area.  This building was built in 1966 as a commemoration of Empress Kōjun's 60th birthday, March 6th, 1963.  Empress Kōjun was the wife of Emperor Hirohito.  This building looks really out of place compared to the historic buildings throughout the Imperial Palace, but the mosaics and 8-sidedness of it makes for an interesting building.

14. Suwa-no-Chaya (諏訪の茶屋)
This is the teahouse that is currently located in the East Garden.  However, throughout its history it has moved around a bit.  During the Edo Castle days, it was in the Fukiage Gardens, which is now part of the main palace grounds.  After Emperor Meiji made old Edo Castle the Imperial Palace, this teahouse was moved to the Akasaka Detached Palace.  The Akasaka Detached Palace is a nearby palace that main function is to house foreign dignitaries.  It was rebuilt back in its original spot at Fukiage Garden in 1912, only to be moved again to its current location in 1968 when the Eastern Garden was being made as a public park.

15. Hirakawamon (平川門)
The original main gate to the east end of Edo Castle.  It also was a gate for maidservants to the castle and one of its gates was for the dead and prisoners of Edo Castle.  It is the next gate if you are going counter-clockwise around the castle from Ōtemon.

Hirakawamon as seen from the base of Edo Castle inside the Imperial Palace.

Hirakawamon also has the only remaining wooden bridge on the Imperial Palace Grounds.

16. Statue of Wake no Kiyomaro
To the northeast of the palace, outside of the palace grounds and beyond the moat is a statue of Wake no Kiyomaro.

Wake no Kiyomaro was also another person important to the history of the Imperial Line.  Wake became important during the Doukyou Affair.  Doukyou had received favor from the retired Empress Kouken after curing her illnesses in 761 and possibly became her lover. [17]  The Empress gradually reasserted power over the Emperor at the time, and by 762 had taken over the important duties again.  She eventually returned to the throne in 765 as Empress Shoutoku. [18]  With her increased power, Doukyou also gained power and seemed poised to become the next Emperor after a divine proclamation from the god of Hachiman at Usa Shrine said that peace would come to Japan if Doukyou would become the next emperor.  However, the Empress received a message from Hachiman to check the authenticity of the message and sent Wake no Kiyomaro to check. [19]


Wake no Kiyomaro reported back with a much different oracle.  Emperors could only come from the descendants of Amaterasu, the Japanese Sun Goddess that Emperor Jimmu suppousedly descended from.  This meant that Doukyou would not be allowed to be the next Emperor, but instead it would continue through the same family line.  Doukyou then ordered Wake no Kiyomaro to be banised and had his tendons cut, only being spared by the powerful rival family. [20]  The Empress's unexpected death due to smallpox in 770 led to the family line continued as Emperor, Doukyou removed and exiled and Wake no Kiyomaro brought back and installed into a high position.  Upon investigation of the Usa Shrine, it was discovered that the head priest had fabricated the previous oracles in hopes to gain favor with Doukyou as the future emperor. [21]


Wake no Kiyomaro saved the Imperial Line at a time it might have changed families.  He stuck to his convictions even when facing oppression for it.  For his efforts and help to the Imperial Family his statue now stands among the Imperial Palace Grounds.


Having already visited the rest of the Palace Grounds, I was looking forward to gaining access to the most restricted, secretive and important areas of the palace and to see what was there and see the imperial family.


References:


1. "The Imperial Palace," The Imperial Household Agency.
http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/shisetsu/kokyo.html.


2. Ibid.


3. Ibid.


4. "Tokyo Imperial Palace History, Facts Picture & Location," Famous Wonders.
http://famouswonders.com/tokyo-imperial-palace/.


5. Ibid.


6. Eric Weiner, "What the U.S. Can Learn from Japan's 'Lost Decade'" NPR.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88156284.


7. "The Imperial Palace," The Imperial Household Agency.
http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/shisetsu/kokyo-map.html.


8. "Kokyo Gyoen National Garden," Ministry of Environment.
http://www.env.go.jp/garden/kokyogaien/english/.


9. F.W. Seal, "Kusunoki Masashige 1294-1336," Samurai-Archives.com,
http://www.samurai-archives.com/masashige.html.


10. Ibid.


11. Ibid.


12. Ibid.


13. Ibid.


14. Ibid.


15. Ibid.


16. "Kokyo Gyoen National Garden," Ministry of Environment.


17.  "The Doukyou Affair," Journal of an Amateur Japanologist.
http://journalofanamateurjapanologist.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/the-doukyou-affair/.


18. Ibid.


19. Ibid.


20. Ibid.


21. Ibid.

The History and Estate of Emperors

Jan. 2nd, 2011:


Today is one of two days all year that the Imperial Palace in Tokyo is open.  For most of the year, the Imperial Household is tucked and guarded away behind Nijubashi (Japan's most famous pair of bridges) and the old fortifications of Edo Castle.

However, today for New Year's and on the Emperor's birthday (December 23rd), the palace is open to the public.  Every New Year, the Emperor makes a speech to the people of Japan.  This year, 77,110 people came to the palace to hear him speak. [1]  The Emperor gives this speech from a balcony within the palace so people are able to come to the palace on that day and see the Emperor and listen to his speech at certain times throughout the day.  Once I found out about the opportunity to be able to enter the Imperial Palace and see the Emperor, I had been looking forward to the rare opportunity.

The emperor and imperial line are steeped in history, reverence and even strong religious connotations.  The Japanese Imperial Line is the longest continuous monarchy in the world and until 1945 was a deity in Japanese Shinto religion.  This divinity was renounced by Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa) at the end of World War II as required for Japan's reconstruction, but even now Emperor Akihito still has a reverence among the people that for some can border that of a religious nature.  The beginnings of the imperial line started with Emperor Jimmu in 660.  Emperor's names can get a little confusing for people not used to the Japanese naming of emperors.  As you can see, I have been including 2 names for the emperors that I have been writing about.  The reason for this is emperors actually have 2 names.  These are given names while living (although these given names aren't said by Japanese as they are seen as not respectful enough and are only used by people outside of Japan) and then a posthumous name given after death.  In the past, these names could be of a variety of things but since Emperor Meiji, they have corresponded to the era the emperor reigned in.  I will be posting the posthumous name first followed by given name in parenthesis, except for Emperor Hirohito as I feel most people would know this name, but be confused regarding the posthumous name so I have switched the two names for this.

Much of Japan's history following Emperor Jimmu's reign was either in the leadership of the emperor or a variety of dynamic power struggles between the emperor and strong generals at the time.  The religious impact of the title of emperor was developed firstly and mainly through The Kojiki and further added to in the Nihongi.

The Kojiki (古事記) (Records of Ancient Matters) was written in 712 under the original command by Emperor Temmu, but completed in Empress Genmyō's reign.  The Kojiki is a collection of the histories, religion, mythologies, songs and poems as dictated by Emperor Temmu.  The Kojiki is the basis of Shintoism in Japan and ties the link between the emperor and the gods.  In it, Jimmu is the offspring of the grandson of Amaterasu, the Japanese Sun Goddess.  This connection is further strengthened by the inclusion of 3 holy artifacts, the Sanshu no Jingi (三種の神器) (three sacred regalia):  sacred sword, sacred mirror and curved jewels.  These artifacts are thought to still be surviving today, located in 3 important shrines in Japan: the sword in Atsuta Jingu, Aichi Prefecture, the mirror in Ise Jingu, Mie Prefecture and the curved jewels in the Imperial Palace, Tokyo.  Shinto further developed from the Kojiki with the Emperor being one of its Gods from its beginning to 1945.

While the religious and cultural position of the Emperor was never questioned, his political position was often greatly in conflict in the following centuries.  Here's a short overview of the power of the emperor in Japan throughout the centuries.  The emperors had begun in the late Kofun Period (250-710) and continued to rule throughout the Nara and Heian Periods (710-794, 794-1185).  However these periods, saw the imperial court life focused more on etiquette and art and less on governing.  Their actual power had grown weak by the end of this period and much of the governing was placed on local lords.  This problem would come to a head in the next period, the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).

Two family lines that had been barred from succession, the Genji (Minamoto) and Heike (Taira) clans were brought back in the 1150s to help weaken the Fujiwara family that were in charge of the imperial court at the time as a powerful regency over the emperors.  The Heike clan at first held power in the imperial court, but Yoritomo Minamoto, the leader of the Genji clan would defeat his rivals in a series of battles from 1180-1185.  By the end, the Heike were almost completely wiped out and Moritomo held the power over Japan.  The Kamakura period was one marked by the Genji and later the Hōjō clans being the real leaders of Japan and given the title of shogun from the emperor.  Invasions from the Mongols in 1274 and 1281 had weakened the shogunate, especially financially, and an uprising by the exiled Emperor Go-Daigo helped by the betrayal of the Hōjō's own general Takauji Ashikaga had defeated the Hōjō Shogunate.

Afterwards, Takauji and Go-Daigo fought each other over control and Takauji won the battle leaving the Emperor Go-Daigo to flee and set up a court south of Kyoto.  Takauji Ashikaga set up another court in Muromachi, Kyoto and was granted the title of shogun by the emperor that he installed at the court, starting the Muromachi Period (1333-1568).  The southern court would be defeated in 1392 by Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, who was the grandson of Takauji Ashikaga.  However, this period was marked by very weak central power and the country gradually fell into all-out war between local warlords by the Ōnin War in 1467-1477.  This led to a Warring States Period that was only stopped by a succession of 3 strong generals starting with Nobunaga Oda who was able to take Kyoto in 1568 and made his own base of power over Japan in Azuchi in 1573, leading to the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568-1600).  He would be the first of 3 'unifiers' of Japan, along with Hideyoshi Toyotomi following his death and finished by Iyeasu Tokugawa who defeated Hideyoshi Toyotomi and taken power over all of Japan, making a new capital in Edo starting the Edo Period (1600-1868).

During this time, the Tokugawa Shoguns would have complete control over Japan.  This power fell from a combination of the shogunate weakening and the threat from outside invasion as foreign countries started to push their power again Japan, starting with Admiral Perry's forced entry into Japan in 1853 and 1854.  The Tokugawa Shogunate was too weak to attempt any defense and led to unrest and eventually revolution as the Meiji Revolution brought a civil war to Japan and ended with the shogunate ending and the emperor coming to power, starting the Meiji Period (1868-1912).  The emperor held the ruling power until the end of World War II, when the emperor no longer was allowed any official political power and a new democratic system was developed during the reconstruction.

In his present position, the emperor has no official political power but still has an important place culturally, much like other monarchs in other developed nations.  While there was some worry about the lack of a male heir and some mulling about allowing a woman to become emperor, changing the current rules to do so; this crisis was averted when Prince Hisahito was born in 2006.  Otherwise, the only recent events involving the imperial family is their increased public role after the March 11th Earthquake and going to shelters in Tohoku to check on the people living in them.

So what happened to make the Imperial Palace in Tokyo the Emperor's current home?  Prior to 1868, there wasn't even a palace in Tokyo.  The emperors then were living in the Imperial Palace in Kyoto.

One of the outer gates to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto.

One of the outer walls to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto.

Inside Kyoto's Imperial Palace

However in 1868, with the Meiji Restoration, the emperor moved to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo; and what other spot to move to in Tokyo, than to the previous home of the shoguns that had ruled Japan there for the previous 260+ years.  Much of the current imperial palace grounds have been shaped by its history as Edo Castle.

The Emperor's Palace, and previous Edo Castle are located in the Minato Ward of Tokyo in Chiyoda.  The name of Edo Castle comes from the old name of Tokyo, Edo.  Edo was changed to Tokyo in 1868 due to the Emperor's move there.  Tokyo (東京) means Eastern Capital, distinguishing it from Kyoto (京都) meaning Capital City.  Edo prior to the Tokugawa Shogunate was a small town, but after 1603 when the Tokugawas chose the city to be their capital it quickly grew to become the most important and populous city like it is today.  The current site of the palace was chosen by Iyeasu Tokugawa to be the place from where he would command Japan.  Edo Castle became his stronghold of defense and administration, and at one point was the most impressive in Japan.

Edo Castle during 1638-1657 [2]

I have written a little about the beginnings of Edo Castle from my disucssion about Hie Shrine in my New Year's Post.  Dokan Ota under the Uesugi clan built Edo Castle in 1457, however it would come under control of the Hōjō clan (Not the same clan as that of the Kamakura period, but a family renamed after the famous clan).  The Hōjō clan was based in Odawara and upon the siege of Odawara Castle abandoned Edo Castle and eventually lost the siege to Hideyoshi Toyotomi who gave the lands and Edo Castle to his ally Iyeasu Tokugawa in 1590. [3]  However, after Tokugawa had defeated the forces of Hideyoshi Toyotomi and started to set up his base of government in Edo, the castle there was found to be in disrepair.  Starting work on the castle again in 1603, it took over 30 years to finish and wouldn't be finished until Iemitsu's reign, (Iyeasu's grandson). [4]  At this point, the main tower was on a 11 meter base and a 51 meter tall tower, making Edo Castle the tallest one in Japan.  It was also the biggest castle in the world with an outer perimeter of over 16 kilometers. [5]  Its dominance was not to last, as in 1657 (only 19 years after completion) it was struck by a lightning bolt and the ensuing Great Meireki fire burned down the keep and large sections of Edo (Tokyo).  The Donjon (main tower) was never rebuilt.  Additional fires in 1853 and 1863 burned down the Honmaru Palace and the Nishinomaru Palace (Residence of the shogun and the retired shoguns / heir-apparents respectively).  However, during the Edo Castle days, these were rebuilt.  The shogunate's loss in the Meiji Revolution in 1867 forced the shogun to abdicate Edo Castle to Emperor Meiji who would from then on occupy the grounds that would become the Imperial Palace after his move there in 1868.

This will be the 1st of 3 posts regarding the Emperor, Imperial Palace and going to the Imperial Palace to hear the Emperor's New Year's Speech.  Next time, I will cover the history of the Emperor's Palace and a tour of the accessible parts of the palace grounds today.  The 3rd post will be about my experience of going to the inner part of the Imperial Palace and my experiences of the New Year's speech by the Emperor.

References:

1. "New Year Greeting," The Imperial Household Agency.
http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/kyuchu/shukuga01.html.

2. Username: erbse, "Historic Cityviews: Illustrations and Paintings," posting to Skyscrapercity forums, December 1, 2009,
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1010911&page=2 (accessed November 7, 2011).

3. Aria Murasaka, "Edo Castle," Ancient Worlds The Orient,
http://www.ancientsites.com/aw/Article/837886.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

First Afternoon and Evening (最初の午後と最初の夕方, さいしょのごごとさいしょのゆうがた, Saisho no gogo to saisho no yuugata)

The New Year's series of posts before this one: the basics of Japanese New Year's and some of its traditions here, New Year's Eve and Countdown here and New Year's sunrise, traditional meal and visit to Meiji Jingū here.


Our next Hatsumōde stop is at Hie Shrine (日枝神社, ひえじんじゃ).  Hie Shrine is in Nagata in the Chiyoda Ward of Tokyo.  It is actually very close to where I stayed during my time here as a study abroad student, but oddly enough I never visited the shrine during my time there and this would be my first visit.  


Hie Shrine has it's beginnings in the early Kamakura period (1185-1333) on the current site of the Emperor's Palace.  (I will be getting more into the history of Edo Castle and the Emperor's Palace in my next post, so if this is of interest then be on the lookout for it.)  A man named Edo had built a Hie Shrine here to house the guardian deity of his property.  The deity in Hie Shrines is Ōyamakui-no-kami, which is the God of Mt. Hie in Shiga Prefecture; it is more commonly known as Hie-no-kami. [1]  Shiga Prefecture can be found on the 4th map of my Maps of Japan post.  Ōyamakui-no-kami is the master of the great mountain and look over the growth of everything, especially business. [2]  Hie Shrine's next development would come in 1478 when Ota Dokan built Edo Castle in the same spot and built Sanno-Hie Shrine to house the guardian deity for the castle.  When Iyeasu Tokugawa took over Edo Castle to rule over Edo and Japan as Shogun, he also gave patronage to the shrine and made it a protector of the city of Edo.  Now the guardian deity of the Shogun,  it greatly increased the importance of Hie Shrine and its following from the local people. [3]


Hidetada Tokugawa, 2nd Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate moved the shrine in 1607 to near the present day National Theater instead of inside the castle grounds, because citizens of Edo could only visit the shrine two days of the year while it was in the castle grounds.  However this didn't last long as the shrine burned down in a fire along with most of the city in 1657.  When it was rebuilt in 1659, the shrine was moved to its current location.  These shrines buildings were designated as national treasures until they were unfortunately also lost to fire, this time to the air raids of World War II.  The present shrine was rebuilt in 1958 with donations from worshipers of the shrine. [4]


While Hie Shrine is not the most famous of shrines for Hatsumōde, my girlfriend suggested we go because of their wide variety of New Year's Ema for sale.  I have talked previously about ema and collecting them, when I talked about my trip to Enoshima and buying the ema here.  Before the ema, I'll show the shrine experience up to that point.  

The torii leading up to Hie Shrine.  The shrine is on top of the hill in the area, so there are a lot of steps to the top.

The main building of Hie Shrine decorated for New Year's.

Looking back at the entrance of the inner gate.

The statues of two monkeys line the main gate to the shrine.  The monkey is the messenger for  the shrine's god.  These messengers are called masaru (monkey is saru in Japanese) and a play off this word of masaru is ma ga saru, meaning to take a charm to ward off evil.  Monkeys are also considered good luck for childbirth, child rearing and marriage happiness due to their perceived affection towards children. [5]

We actually didn't make our wishes or pray at this shrine as the line was very long (over an hour wait) and there were no back ways in like Meiji Jingū.  We were also running out of time in the day and still had things to do.  However, we did participate and watch several of the New Year's festivities at the shrine.

Shrines often serve a special sake for the New Year's celebration.  This sake is amazake, and is a sweet sake served at shrines for the New Year's holiday.  It was really cheap and certainly worth every yen, as it was delicious.   

Speaking of sake, here is the sake offerings given to Hie Shrine.  This is what the sake offerings usually look like, with a full cask given.  This is actually a very common sight at shrines.

We also watched this ceremony at the shrine.  The shrine maiden takes the protection charms that the worshipers have bought from the shrine and then prays to the gods for extra protection from them.

After seeing the typical New Year celebrations from the shrine, we set out to do what we planned on doing at the shrine.  First, we set out to buy the New Year's Ema.  

Hie Shrine has so many ema that they put out a big bulletin board with all of the ema and a number below them so people can look first and then give the number to the counter when they are ready to buy them.

A closer view of the smaller ema.

As you can see, almost all of the ema have rabbits on them.  That's because this is the year of the rabbit (usagi in Japanese, うさぎ).  Japan still puts importance in the Chinese Zodiac and it's animals.  The rotation for the Zodiac is:


2010: Tiger (寅, とら, Tora)
2011: Rabbit (卯, う, U)
2012: Dragon (辰, たつ, Tatsu)
2013: Snake (巳, み, Mi)
2014: Horse (午, うま, Uma)
2015: Sheep (羊, ひつじ, Hitsuji)
2016: Monkey (申, さる, Saru)
2017: Rooster (酉, とり, Tori)
2018: Dog (戌, いぬ, Inu)
2019: Boar (Pig in Chinese) (亥, い, I)
2020: Rat (子, ね, Ne)
2021: Ox (丑, うし, Ushi)


Here are the ema I picked up from Hie Shrine:

The last thing to do at Hie Shrine was to get the New Year's Goshuin.

Our last stop of the day was to our local neighborhood shrine of Yoyogi Hachiman for Hatsumōde.  I talked about my local shrine before during the neighborhood Awa Odori Festival.  Even though the New Year festivities were much smaller at this shrine, being the neighborhood shrine made the event as special as any of the other shrines we visited during the day.

The shrine lit by New Year's lanterns.

While it might seem like this was really late in the day, we arrived there early evening.  Japan's sunrise and sunset are both very early and with no Daylight's Savings Time like in the US, it gets dark here pretty early during the winter.

A closer picture of the lanterns set up at the entrance.

This ring of bound grasses is used at shrines for the new year to clean the body of bad luck or bad things accumulated throughout the previous year.

The main hall decorated for New Year's.  The bells on the rope are rung by the worshipers to let the gods at the shrine know the people are there before making their wish and prayers for the New Year.

After making our wishes and prayers for the New Year, we went to get the New Year's Goshuin from the shrine.

After getting the Goshuin, we returned home ending our festivities for New Year's Day.  There was so much to do, and I was glad to be able to experience all of the amazing things that the New Year's holiday has to offer in Japan.  I look forward to the holiday next year and participating in the same things again, and maybe trying some new traditions for New Year's too.




References:


1. "Brief History of Hie Jinja," Hie Jinja.
http://www.hiejinja.net/jinja/english/history.html.


2. Terue Kawai, "Shrines - Bastions for the Japanese Heart and Soul Down Through the Ages," Marunouchi.com. 
http://www.marunouchi.com/e/interview/marunouchi2011_11_01.html.


3. "Brief History," Hie Jinja.


4. Terue Kawai, "Shrines - Bastions for the Japanese Heart and Soul," Marunouchi.com.


5. Ibid.