Read aloud by your device's voice. It sounds different on each device.
Edo Castle
The palace grounds stand on the site of Edo Castle
The 1.15-square-kilometer palace grounds and gardens are built on the site of the old Edo Castle. The Tokugawa shogunate used the palace, and Emperor Meiji moved into it in 1869.
The old palace
The Meiji palace mixed Japanese and European rooms
The Meiji-era buildings were wooden, in traditional Japanese architecture outside. Inside, the grand chambers had Japanese coffered ceilings but Western chairs, tables and heavy curtains. The residential spaces used traditional tatami mats.
The new palace
A new main palace hall was built between 1964 and 1968
A new main palace hall and residences were built on the western part of the site from 1964 to 1968, designed by Junzō Yoshimura. The kyūden was completed in 1968 and has a total area of 24,175 square meters in seven wings.
24,175square meters of total area in seven wings
The garden
The East Garden became a public park in 1968
In 1948 the area was renamed Imperial Residence, and the eastern part became the East Garden, a public park, in 1968. A group founded in 2004 aims to rebuild at least the main donjon of Edo Castle.
1945
Most of the Meiji palace was lost in the 1945 firebombing
On the night of May 25, 1945, most structures of the Imperial Palace were destroyed in the Allied firebombing raid on Tokyo. In August 1945 Emperor Hirohito met with his Privy Council at an air-raid shelter on the palace grounds, and decisions were made that led to the surrender of Japan.
Day 2, afternoon
It comes after Ginza. Then Tokyo Station.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Tokyo Imperial Palace, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.