Edo Castle

Tokyo, Kanto

Edo Castle (Edo-jo) was the home castle of the line of Tokugawa shoguns who ran the Edo government which ruled Japan for roughly 260 years (from the beginning of the 17th century until 1867). It was originally built in 1457 by the daimyo Ota Dokan, who was also well-known as a poet. As it was the castle of the founding shogun of the Edo government (Tokugawa Ieyasu), it became the building that symbolized the prestige of successive shoguns, and was also the center of political power. It was the largest castle in Japan in those days, with the inner compound measuring roughly 8 km in diameter, and the outer compound measuring around 16 km. The castle donjon with a five-tiered facade was an enormously high building with a stone wall measuring 51.5 m from ground level. This was destroyed, however, in the great fire of 1657. It is currently the Imperial Palace of the Emperor of Japan.


Chiyoda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Admission Fee
Mondays (if the Monday is a holiday, the following Tuesday), Fridays (except holidays), the Emperors Birthday, Dec. 28-Jan. 3'
[Walk]JR Tokyo Station/On foot/10 min.

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