Nijō Castle is a flatland castle in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric
rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support
buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is 275,000 square metres (27.5 ha; 68
acres), of which 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft) is occupied by buildings.
Nijo Castle was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun
of the Edo Period (1603-1867). His grandson Iemitsu completed the castle's palace buildings 23 years
later and further expanded the castle by adding a five story castle keep.
After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a while before
being donated to the city and opened up to the public as a historic site. Its palace buildings are
arguably the best surviving examples of castle palace architecture of Japan's feudal era, and the castle
was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994.
Nijo Castle can be divided into three areas: the Honmaru (main circle of defense), the Ninomaru
(secondary circle of defense) and some gardens around them. The entire castle grounds and the Honmaru
are surrounded by stone walls and moats.
Address: 541 Nijojocho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8301
Official Site: www.nijo-jocastle.city.kyoto.lg.jp/
