Tokyo Imperial Palace
HISTORY
Before the Meiji Restoration
For nearly 1000 years the Emperors of Japan resided in the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Kyoto was more centrally located on Japan's main island.
In 1868 a major political upheaval called the Meiji Restoration forced the Emporer to relocate to the Edo Castle. Edo is now known as Tokyo. Following this, the Emperors of Japan have resided in Tokyo.
Edo Castle
Edo Castle was first built in 1457 by Ota Dokan in the same area the Edo family had their residence. Later in 1603 the Tokugawa clan made Edo the seat of the shogunate and by 1710 Edo Castle was the largest castle in Japan. The castle was five-stories high and was surrounded by 111 gates. In 1863 just before the Meiji Restoration the main palace was burned to the ground and never rebuilt.
Meiji Restoration
Much of the Edo Castle was destroyed from multiple fires and earthquakes. This is because all the buildings on the grounds were made of wood. After the Meiji Restoration much of the architecture was replaced with stone and iron such as the double bridges. The Imperial Palace however was constructed from wood. Most of the palace was destroyed during the firebombing of Tokyo towards the end of the Second World War.
Current Palace
After the destruction of the old Palace, the construction of the now current palace began on the opposite side of the grounds. The Imperial Palace or Kyuden as it is called was built with traditional japanese architecture in mind and used materials exclusively from Japan. The structure was completed in 1968. The Palace itself is a steel-framed structure, two stories tall with an underground floor and inclined roof. It comprises the Main Building along with six wings for a total floot space of 22,949 square meters.
