Honmaru Fortress: High Stone Ramparts and the Inner Keep Moat
Why is it significant?
Cross the wooden bridge spanning the deep inner moat into the Honmaru, the innermost defensive citadel of Nijo Castle.
Key Facts
| Place | Honmaru Fortress: High Stone Ramparts and the Inner Keep Moat |
|---|---|
| Address | 541 Nijojocho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto 604-8301, Japan |
| Geo Coordinates | 35.01580, 135.75120 |
| Part of Walk | Kyoto: Nijo Castle and the Imperial Palace, Shogun Fortresses and Court Traditions |
| Generated | Generated |
Cross the wooden bridge spanning the deep inner moat into the Honmaru, the innermost defensive citadel of Nijo Castle. Towering granite ramparts rise steeply from the water, constructed with massive interlocking boulders that flare outward at the corners in the graceful, anti-scaling curve known as ogi-no-kobai, or folding-fan slope. Stand on the elevated terrace and look out across the inner courtyard toward the preserved Honmaru Palace. The wide waters of the inner moat mirror the stone battlements and blue sky above. High above the water, the stone ramparts form a series of formidable concentric defensive tiers designed to trap and disorient any invading army.
The five-story castle keep, or tenshukaku, that once dominated this inner citadel was struck by a catastrophic bolt of lightning in seventeen fifty and burned to its stone foundation. Rather than rebuilding the tower, shogunate authorities reinforced the corner turrets, known as yagura, which housed armories of matchlock muskets, iron armor, and water reservoirs to withstand prolonged sieges, keeping the fortress battle-ready.
The elegant wooden palace standing before you today was not originally built inside Nijo Castle. Following the Meiji Restoration, the Katsura Palace residence within the Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds was dismantled in eighteen ninety-three and painstakingly relocated here timber by timber, creating a rare surviving example of late Edo-period imperial aristocratic domestic architecture preserved in authentic condition.
Climb the stone stairs to the foundation of the former castle keep. From the breezy summit platform, gaze across the rooftop tiles toward the northern mountains of Kyoto, just as Tokugawa sentinels did when scanning the horizon for approaching armies. The cool mountain breeze brings the crisp scent of pine needles across the ramparts.
Exit Nijo Castle through the northern perimeter and walk northeast through quiet civic avenues toward the Kyoto Prefectural historic hall.