Sightseeing - Imperial Palace, Tokyo

Today (21st July) is a national holiday in Japan (Marine Day according to my phone), so no work to worry about. Even if I did have work, it would only be a one hour adult class. We decided to go to the Imperial Palace in the middle of Tokyo and (finally) do some tourist stuff.



So, a bit of a History lesson for you...
The Imperial Palace is on the sight of what was once Edo-jo (Edo = early Tokyo, a little fishing village + jo = castle. Ieyasu Tokugawa chose this sight for his castle in 1590 after making a deal were he was awarded the eight provinces of Kanto in exchange for his three provinces closer to Kyoto (the capital). Tokugawa was fine with the exchange, he was Lord of Kanto, the richest granary in Japan, and it gave him the chance, and the finances to build a mighty fortress to rival Kyoto. Within 10 years, he was ruling the whole country from Edo-jo as military shogun.



Tokugawa secured 250 years of unbroken peace for Japan. The shogunate was eventually overthrown in a bloodless coup in 1867. The following year, Emporer Meiji moved his court to Edo, from Kyoto and renamed the city Tokyo - the Eastern Capital.



At its peak, the castle had 99 gates, 21 watchtowers (3 are still standing) and 28 armouries. It was completed in 1640, and at the time, was the largest castle in the world.



We arrived late afternoon, which meant that we coudn't visit the gardens as they were closing (we'll go back later). We had a good walk around, and it's not until your stood infront of the walls, and start walking around them, that you really appreciate the size and complexity of the building. We had a good day of sightseeing.