Guest Author - Melanie Shintaku

The original building of Nijo Jo (Nijo Castle) was completed in 1603 and home to the Tokugawa Shoguns. The first inhabitant of the castle was Ieyasu Tokugawa who lived from 1542-1616. While Nijo Jo is referred to as a castle, it actually served as the Shogun's residence and has nothing in common with other castles in Japan. Other castles in Japan were designed more as fortresses and supply houses for war.

Nijo is the original name of present day Kyoto. Japan's present day capital is Edo, now known as Tokyo. previously Kyoto was the capital of Japan. Prior to Kyoto, Nara was the capital of Japan -- from 710 AD to 787 AD.

One of the most memorable features of Nijo Jo is it's famous uguisu bari (nightengale floors). These wooden floors are ingeniously designed to produce a chirping sound when walked upon. The floors were designed this way to provide further protection for castle inhabitants. Anyone trying to sneak through corridors would be announced with the chirping sound of the nightengale floors.

Another striking feature of Nijo Jo is it's beautiful archway Kara Mon (Chinese Gate), built at the entrance to Honmaru Palace. This archway is absolutely beautiful.

If you can visit Nijo Jo, please take time to study the intricate carvings of the archway which was influenced by the popular Chinese design of the times. Originally this archway was decorated with flowers, cranes, tigers and a dragon with the crest of the Tokugawa family. Once the last remaining Shogun resigned in 1868, the Tokugawa crest was replaced with the symbol of the Imperial family - the chrysanthemum.

Many of the original buildings on the castle ground no longer exist due to fire and other disasters. The newest building "Honmaru Palace" was placed on Nijo Jo grounds in 1894. Honmaru Palace was originally a building from the Kyoto Imperial Grounds and was already 50 years old at the time of its move to Nijo Jo grounds.

Once inside the castle, you'll notice some of the remaining beautiful scenes of tigers and pine trees (symbols of power and strength) painted by the famous Kano school of artisans. Beautiful carvings adorn the top of the arches inside the castle. Amazingly, each side of these carvings are different offering visitors different views of the same span of wood one side at a time.

The last stop on the tour of Nijo Jo will be its beautiful gardens. Take a moment to notice how the rocks are placed in this garden. The rocks are placed upright, which is a symbol of strength. Leaves or blossoms were never allowed to remain on the ground in the Shogun's garden as it was considered a bad omen and reminder of death.

When Nijo Jo was occupied by the Shogun, ninja were scattered throughout the garden posing as gardeners. With nothing more than a simple clap of the hands by the Shogun, ninjas would appear offering protection from whomever the Shogun considered an unwelcomed guest.

Please take time to visit Nijo Jo as I believe you will find the experience truly memorable.