Nijo Ji

Walking distance from our hotel sat Nijo Ji (Castle), a UNESCO World Heritage site built in 1603. The castle was the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate. The castle itself is not as magnificent as other structures in Japan but the Palace Building (Ninomaru) survives in its original form and has some beautifully preserved architectural elements. The Ninomaru Place also houses a fascinating museum focused on court life in Edo Japan. A rather unusual feature of the castle are floors that are intentionally made to squeak when one walks on them. These nightingale floors were created by leaving room for the flooring nails to rub against a metal jacket, causing a chirping sound as you walk across them. These ingenious floors were designed to warn of intruders, as it was impossible to be stealthy when walking across a floor that chirps with every step.

The interior was beautiful. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside the building and the exterior light left something to be desired. There is a fine page for us archidorks/history geeks interested in the castle at asianhistoricalarchitecture.com.


	The Karamon Gate, top one taken by taken by Kara. Below: Ninomaru Palace, inside the castle grounds. This was the official reception area and where the nightingale floors are located.


	The southwest tower and moat surrounding the Honmaru Palace where the living quarters were located. Below are the gardens that make up much of the castle grounds. Further blow is the bridge across the moat to get to Honmaru Palace.