Imperial Palace East Garden
The Imperial Palace East Gardens is a historical garden in The Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The gardens however, were first in use by the Tokugawa shogunate.
| Imperial Palace East Garden | |
|---|---|
皇居東御苑 | |
A gate in the Honmaru (本丸) area. | |
| General information | |
| Location | 1-1 Chiyoda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-8111, Japan |
| Town or city | Chiyoda, Tokyo |
| Country | Japan |
| Coordinates | 35.6868°N 139.7571°E |
| Year(s) built | 1961-68 (Modern Garden) |
| Construction started | 1961 |
| Completed | 1968 |
| Opened | October 1st 1968 |
| Owner | Imperial Household Agency |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 210,000 square metres |
| Grounds | Edo Castle (Ruins) Imperial Palace, Tokyo (Modern) |
| Website | |
| https://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-event/higashigyoen02.html | |
There is a bridge which leads to Sakashita-mon gate nearby is the Imperial Household Agency building and Tokyo Imperial Palace (or "kyuden")
The garden was built on the grounds of Edo Castle. The Ote-mon Gate functioned as the main gate of Edo Castle. It was used by the feudal lords who came to stay in the castle under the alternating attendance system of the Tokugawa shogunate, as such it was a very important gate. All the gardens areas were used as defence. They are translated as “inner circle of defense” (honmaru), “second circle of defense” (ninomaru), and “third circle of defense” (sannomaru). Suwa-no-cha-ya, was built by Emperor Meiji in 1912 and is a tea house. Emperor Meiji also lived in the Nishinomaru palace near the gardens, he lived at the Nishinomaru from 1869-73.