Historical Capital...: Kyoto Part 1 [25x08]

Historical Capital…: Kyoto Part 1 [25×08]

♫ Title Music ♫ Almost five years to the day from
when I was originally due here, cancelled so many times by Covid,
a final approach into Haneda in Tokyo unveils Mount Fuji as I venture
further East than I’ve ever done before ♫ Title Music ♫ Kyoto, located in the Kansai region was
the historical capital of Japan for nearly 1100 years. Chosen as the seat of the Imperial
court by Emperor Kanmu in 794 it was the centre of political world of Japan through multiple
eras, even when the Emperor themselves played a backseat role to the feudal Shogun rules
who oversaw their own parts of the country. With the end of the Shogun period and the
re-establishment of the Emperor first of Japan, and then to a wider area of East Asia as
the country pursued colonial expansionism, the new emperor relocated the capital to
Edo, and renamed that city Tokyo in 1868. No longer the capital Kyoto became a secondary
city in the country, but because of this it was spared the worst of the devastation of World
War II, leaving the city with a cultural heritage that dates back centuries making it
still the Cultural Capital of the country. From countless Shinto Shrines and
Buddhist temples to Imperial Palaces and Parks the city still has all the
trappings of it’s role as a capital. There is lots of evidence of human
settlement in the area of modern day Kyoto dating back to at least the
palaeolithic period, though little written evidence exists before the founding
of the Shimogamo Shrine in the 6th century. A new city Heian-Kyo, literally tranquillity
and peace capital, later renamed to Kyoto, and modelled after the Chinese Tang
dynasty capital Chang’an became the new seat of the Japanese imperial court in 794,
beginning the Heian period of Japanese History, representing the last phase
of Classical Japanese history before the move into a Feudal society
in the latter part of the 12th century. During the Feudal period the city
suffered extensive destruction in the Onin War of 1467-1477 and
took nearly 100 years to recover. To protect themselves the houses of nobles
were transformed into fortresses with deep trenches dug through the city for defence
and also to act as firebreaks. The city was reconstructed through the building
of new north-south streets that created much of the rectangular blocks
that exist in the city to today. Throughout this time whilst the Imperial
Family were the sovereigns of the nation, the actual power and control rested
with the Shoguns, the military rulers who presided over the running of the country.
The last Shogunate was the Tokugawa Shogunate which established itself in the up and
coming city of Edo 450Km to the Northeast, starting the Edo period of history –
generally considered to be the start of Early modern Japan lasting until the
re-establishment of the Emperor as the absolute leader of the country in 1868 at the
start of the Modern period of Japanese history. Despite the Shogun moving to Edo, Kyoto continued
to flourish, in part due to the construction of a new castle – Nijo Castle – that was built
by the first Tokugawa Shogun. In 1601 he ordered all the feudal lords in western Japan to
contribute to the construction of Nijo Castle, which was completed 25 years later
under the reign of his grandson. The castle was built as the Kyoto
residence of the shoguns when they were in town to consult with the Imperial
Court, located just a mile to the north. Making use of a portion of land from
the, at the time partially abandoned, Shinsenen Garden, it’s abundant water was
used to create the castle gardens and ponds. Today the fortifications contain the
Ninomaru Palace, the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and gardens
covering a combined area of 275,000 square meters of which some 8,000 square
meters is occupied by buildings. The castle consists of two concentric rings
of fortifications each made up of a wall and a wide moat. The outer wall has four gates
with the Great Eastern Gate being the main access point to the site today. The inner wall
has two gates, with one in ruins and one intact. The buildings inside the castle are
a mix of relocated buildings from other locations and purpose built constructions. Completing the original castle in 1626 parts
of Fushimi Castle such as the main tower and the karamon or main gate were moved here. Whilst
the main tower was destroyed following a lightning strike in 1750, the Karamon still stands to
today, though in a different location in Kyoto with a replica now forming the entranceway
into the Ninomaru Palace or Ninomaru Goten. The palace consists of six connected buildings
decorated with elaborate wood carvings and vast quantities of gold leaf, intended to impress
visitors with the power and wealth of the shogun. Each sliding door inside the building
is decorated with screen paintings. The building was designed specifically
with social control in mind with your rank in society determining how far into
the building you could progress with low ranking visitors kept to the outer buildings. The Ninomaru Goten is also the location
in 1867 of the declaration by the last Shogun – Tokugawa Yoshinobu – that
returned the authority for running the country to the Imperial Court.
In the following year the Imperial Cabinet was installed in the castle and
the palace became imperial property. The structure of the buildings is best seen from
the Ninomaru gardens that sit behind the palace, from here you can make out the different
buildings staggered behind each other with the linking passageways joining
the various structures together The gardens themselves were laid out
in the early 17th century and are set out around a large pond with three islands and
carefully placed stones and topiary pine trees. ♫ Music ♫ Beyond the walls of the Ninomaru gardens you reach
the inner ward with the second set of high stone walls and wide moat separating off the inner heart
of the palace complex from the rest of the site. Passing through the still intact gate you
enter into the inner sanctum of the palace Today the gardens and buildings are very different to how they would have looked when
the castle was first constructed. The original elements from Fushimi castle
were destroyed first in a lightning strike on the keep in 1750 and then just
38 years later the reminder of the inner ward was destroyed by a citywide fire.
The site remained empty for over 100 years. Whilst a lightning strike
took out the wooden tower, it didn’t have much of an impact on
the stone foundations of the keep and they are still standing to today in the
southwestern corner of the inner keep. You can climb up the remains of the keep to take
in the views across the Honmaru Garden and Palace, as well as the inner fortifications
and the wider palace complex. After being left vacant for over
100 years the inner ward was filled back in by moving one part of the
former Katsura Palace from within the Kyoto Imperial Palace complex
between 1893 and 1894 to the site. This was part of a systematic clearing
of the disused residences and palaces in the Imperial palace complex following the
courts move to Tokyo some 15 years earlier. The palace originally had 55 buildings, but only a
small part was relocated here. The Honmaru Palace was the location of the enthronement
banquet for Emperor Hirohito in 1928. Behind the palace you exit
the inner ward of the castle through the now lost gate and back
across the moat to the outer ward. The Nijo Castle complex remained under
the control of the Imperial court until 1939 when it was donated to the city of Kyoto
and opened to the public the following year. Just over a mile to the northeast of
the Nijo castle is the site of the last Imperial Palace of Kyoto, today in the
parkland of the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden. The original Imperial Palace of Heian was
located just to the west of where Nijo Castle stands today, but was gradually abandoned
following the last of several major fires in 1177 Even before the destruction of the
Heian Palace the Emperors residence had moved into this northern part of the
city, usually in the homes of powerful noble families who provided their home
to the Emperor to be close to power. In this location the Imperial palace
has been destroyed and rebuilt eight times due to fire – six of those taking
place during the Edo period itself. The final version of the palace was only
completed in 1855, attempting to reproduce the original Heian period architecture and style
of the original palace. The court would move out just 14 years later when the capital relocated
to Tokyo, and by 1877 the preservation of the building was ordered – so this really is a
one careful owner, almost never used palace. The palace is still under the control
of the Imperial Household Agency with only the grounds open to the public.
You can take a tour of the building, but these need to be booked
in advance with the Agency. After entering through one of the side
gates on the western side of the complex you initially pass another gate and the
carriage entrance, before reaching the waiting rooms that dignitaries would first be
directed to on their arrival at the palace, before they were ushered into one of the three
different anterooms, based on their rank. From the outside of the buildings you move
round to reach the wall of the inner courtyard, it’s white walls and vermillion painted wood
hiding the most important buildings from you. The small Gekkamon Gate on the western
side of the main courtyard allows you a view straight through to its counterpart
the Nikkamon Gate on the eastern side. The Kenreimon Gate is the main entrance gate
into the palace complex, and was used for state ceremonies where the highest ranking foreign
dignitaries would enter the complex directly from the grounds and immediately pass through
the Jomeimon opposite into the inner courtyard. Obviously tourist are not high
ranking foreign dignitaries, so we’re shuffled through a side
gate to enter the main courtyard and the stunning Shishinden, the
throne hall of the Imperial Palace. Despite the Imperial family relocating
to Tokyo the Throne Hall was still used for the enthronement of Emperors Yoshihito and
Hirohito in the early part of the 20th century. Immediately behind the Throne
Hall is the Seiryoden. This was originally a place where the Emperor
could conduct their own personal affairs, but was later adapted to be
used for meetings as well. The structure was originally built as
the Emperor’s residence at the end of the 8th century and was in used
up until the 11th century. It was then dismantled and reassembled
in the current location in 1790, though on a smaller scale than originally,
but preserving the design of the structure. From the Seiryoden it’s a short walk
around the corner into the gardens, laid out around a pond,
crossed by several bridges. Around the edge of the lake are a number of other
official buildings including several study halls, the most important being the Kogosho which
was the location where the declaration of the restoration of imperial rule took place
on the night of December 9th 1867. Though the current building is a 1958 reconstruction
after the original burnt down in 1954. The rest of the route through the Imperial
Palace is through the various gardens, including briefly passing by the main Imperial
residence that was in use from 1590 until 1869, this is also the largest structure
in the palace with fifteen rooms. ♫ Music ♫ The imperial palace sits at the heart
of the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, but it isn’t the only palace in this garden. Sitting just to the Southeast of the Imperial
Palace is the Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace, this palace was designed for retired emperors, though
the last Emperor to retire in Kyoto was in 1817. As with so many of the buildings the
originals were destroyed in a fire in 1854 and unlike the main Imperial Palace
they weren’t rebuilt, instead today the main attraction is the gardens, which
can be visited on an organised tour. Sakura or Cherry Blossom season is the period in
Japan when the countless cherry trees across the nation spring into bloom. Given the sheer number
of trees planted across the country it leads to spectacular displays in many of the countries
cities, as well as leading to a spike in tourism. The season starts around January in Okinawa down
in the southern most islands of Japan before moving up through the country, reaching Kyoto
and Tokyo by late March or early April and then finally arriving in Hokkaido, the northernmost
of the main islands a few weeks later. In 2025 the season had started in Kyoto on
the 27th March and reached it’s peak around the 5th April, so by the time I was visiting
it was already on the decline, marked by my first two days in the city being the last days
of the Sakura festival events in Nijo castle. The event is a sound a light show set up around
the grounds of the castle at night that let you explore the complex with the cherry trees
illuminated to show off their blossoms. The displays are accompanied
by projected illuminations and animations on the various
buildings of the castle complex, including the fortification walls and
the palace buildings and gatehouses. It’s also a great way to explore
the castle grounds in a way that you normally can’t and to see the
structures in a totally different way. ♫ Title Music ♫ Next time I continue my exploration of
Kyoto by hitting up the big tourist sites by taking in a Bamboo Forest, Climbing
a mountain through a thousand torii gates and explore the historic Gion
district, home to the city’s Geisha’s ♫ Title Music ♫

I’m starting my exploration of Japan by heading to the city that was the capital for over a 1000 years, Kyoto, exploring the Castles and Palaces that made this the centre of the country.

Kyoto Gyoen National Garden (https://kyotogyoen.go.jp)
Kyoto Imperial Palace (https://kyoto-gosho.kunaicho.go.jp)
Nijo Castle (https://nijo-jocastle.city.kyoto.lg.jp)

Another Kyoto – https://www.kyototourism.org

Part 1 [Kyoto] – https://youtu.be/TzYUileediQ
Part 2 [Kyoto] – https://youtu.be/KuP7dG6Xnp4
Part 3 [Kyoto] – https://youtu.be/JBOYklsCTS4
Part 4 [Tokyo] – Coming 31st July
Part 5 [Tokyo] – Coming 7th August
Full Long form video – Coming 7th August

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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:39 Background
4:14 Nijo Castle
10:18 Kyoto Imperial Palace
19:10 Next Time
19:32 Outro

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