Nijo Castle

Nijō Castle (二条城), located in Kyoto, is best known for its unusually ornate interiors and so-called nightingale floors. The floors were designed to make bird-like squeaking sounds when walked upon, a warning of possible intruders.

Karamon Gate This Momoyama-period gate has a Chinese-style gable and gold-plated fixtures.


In 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of Tokugawa Shogunate, ordered all the feudal lords in Western Japan to contribute to the construction of the Nijō Castle. The construction was completed during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1626. It was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns.

The central keep or donjon was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1750.
In 1788 the Inner Palace was destroyed by a city-wide fire. The site remained empty until 1862.

Entrance to Palace

The Nijō Castle has two concentric rings of fortifications, both consisting of a wall and a wide moat. There is also a much simpler wall surrounding the Ninomaru Palace. The outer wall has three gates while the inner wall has two. In the southwest corner of the inner wall the are the foundations of a five-storey keep, destroyed by a fire in 1750. The inner walls contain the Honmaru Palace with its garden. Between the two main rings of fortifications are located the Ninomaru Palace, Kitchens, Guard House and several gardens.

The focus of Nijo Castle is the Ninomaru reception rooms, a staggered group of buildings interconnected by covered wooden walkways.

Ninomaru Palace
The 3300 square meter Ninomaru Palace is built almost entirely of Hinoki cypress. The decoration includes lavish quantities of gold leaf and elaborate wood carvings, intended to impress visitors with the power and wealth of the shoguns. The sliding doors and walls of each room are decorated with wall paintings by artists of the Kanō school.

The castle is an excellent example of social control manifested in architectural space. Low-ranking visitors were received in the outer, more gaudy regions of the Ninomaru, whereas high-ranking visitors were shown the more subtle inner chambers. Rather than attempt to conceal the entrances to the rooms for bodyguards (as was done in many castles), the Tokugawas chose to display them prominently. Thus, the construction lent itself to expressing intimidation and power to Edo-period visitors.

The building houses several different reception chambers, offices and the living quarters of the shogun, where only female attendants were allowed. One of the most striking features of Nijō Castle are the "nightingale floors" in the corridors. To protect the occupants from sneak attacks and assassins, the builders constructed the floors of the corridors in such a way as to squeak like birds when anyone walks on them.

Some of the rooms in the castle also contained special doors where the emperor's bodyguard could come out and protect him.


Honmaru Palace
The Honmaru Palace has a surface area of 1600 square meters. The complex has four parts: living quarters, reception and entertainment rooms, entrance halls and kitchen area. The different areas are connected by corridors and courtyards. The architectural style is late Edo period. The palace displays paintings by several famous masters, such as Kanō Eigaku.
The Honmaru Palace was originally known as the Katsura Palace before relocated to the present site and renamed. Originally the palace had 55 buildings, but only a small part was relocated.