Edo Castle / Imperial Palace

Edo Castle
6/6/
On Saturday I took the Yamanote line into Tokyo station to visit the former site of the inner wall of Edo Castle, now the Imperial Palace.  I had originally intended to pay a visit to Hamarikyu Gardens at the mouth of the Sumida River, but got on an express train that went straight to Tokyo station.  I call it Edo castle rather than its current status as the imperial residence because it was Edo castle in the class on Early Modern Japan (Yamashita) that I took last semester, which was my principal reason for visiting; and because I can remember 'Edo castle' in Japanese (江戸城, edojou), but not 'imperial residence' (忘れました, I was told at least twice but still can't remember).  This post will be mostly photos with captions; but to give an overview of where I went, I started in the kokyogaien ('historic garden'), walked clockwise around the entire circumference of the imperial residence, and then toured the East Gardens.  The palace is huge; the entire site is around a kilometer in diameter at its narrowest.

My first impression of the castle, now a garden.  Edo castle had multiple concentric moats during the Tokugawa era, of which the outermost now forms the bed for part of the Yamanote line through Tokyo.  This is the outermost inner moat; I would encourage readers to google a map of the imperial palace if geography is important to them.

In the foreground, one of several guardhouses that remain, with the gatehouse to the imperial residence in the background.  The history student in me will note that the guardhouse juts out over the wall, and has holes in the floor to drop rocks on climbers.  Castles in Japan never used mortar to construct their walls, which are fit together with careful masonry.  They occasionally need renovation, but I'm amazed that they have lasted in such excellent condition, especially in a seismically active country.  I'm trying to take advantage of having a proper camera phone to experiment with my photography; hence the strange weeping willow limbs framing the buildings.

A better look at the gatehouse.

Also able to experiment with selfies, although the photo quality is poorer.  Behind me is the Sakashita-mon gate, one of several entrances to the inner castle.  Also note the runners; the perimeter of the castle makes a very popular 5-km loop, and I passed hundreds of runners (running in the opposite direction) as I walked the same loop.

The stone foundation for the donjon of Edo Castle.  Hidetada began construction of the largest donjon in Japanese history, which was completed under Iemitsu.  Unfortunately, the donjon burned just 19 years after completion in the Meireki Fire of 1657, and was never rebuilt. 

I notice that foreign tourists tend to take pictures of themselves with the main attractions and landmarks; not so for the Japanese, who appear to disdain the selfie.  Rather, I'll see many Japanese, especially old men, spending long minutes setting up photos of flower blossoms.  Here's my take of a hydrangea in the East Gardens.

Alas, this would be such a great shot if not for my finger in the corner.  A guardhouse in the East Gardens, formerly the keep of the castle and now open to the public.

Not an especially engaging photograph visually, but an interesting look at the inside of the walls as they would have been during the castle's military life. There's a moat on the other side of the stone wall, on top of which sits a thinner plaster one.  Note the gun-ports, from which soldiers could fire tanegashima, or muskets.

Overall, Edo Castle was pretty enjoyable, although I find that I much prefer being a tourist with friends. Touring alone allowed me refreshing freedom of movement, but I definitely prefer being able to share what I experience.
Next up: Kamakura, then back to work!