Tokyo Imperial Palace

The 1.15-square-kilometer (0.44 sq mi) palace grounds and gardens are built on the site of the old Edo Castle.

History

Edo castle

The Tokyo Imperial Palace was home to a 2000-year-long line of emperors and empresses. It was also maintained and used by members of the Tokugawa shogunate. Later, Emperor Meiji moved into the palace in 1869.

A non-profit "Rebuilding Edo-jo Association" (NPO法人 江戸城再建) 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 (二重橋, Nijūbashi) 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 737.25 m² (7,935.7 sq ft). 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 (fireproof) 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 (宮城, Kyūjō). 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 (御文庫附属室, Obunko Fuzokushitsu).

Due to the large-scale destruction of the Meiji-era palace, a new main palace hall (宮殿, Kyūden) 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 (皇居, Kōkyo) in 1948, while the eastern part was renamed East Garden (東御苑, Higashi-Gyoen) 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 (宮殿) 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 (吹上御所, Fukiage gosho), 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 (which access only the Kyūden Totei Plaza in front of the Chowaden). Each New Year (January 2) and Emperor's Birthday (February 23), the public is permitted to enter through the Nakamon (inner gate) 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.