That was a bit of a dry spell, wasn’t it? I was off somewhere, so I wasn’t able to update earlier. But now I am picking things up by giving you the second part of the tour inside the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which I started in the previous post.
Remember when I talked about the Shishinden? We walked around its side, to go to the structure behind it. It is called the Seiryoden.
This structure you’re seeing is the rebuilt Seiryoden. Compared to the original Seiryoden, which also used to stand on the exact same spot, it is on a much smaller scale. However, the structure has been preserved.
The east garden is laid with white sand, and there are two types of bamboos grown in front of it: the kuretake and the kawatake.
The original Seiryoden was built purposefully as the residence of the Emperor, and was used from the end of the 8th century until the 11th century. Its design is that of the traditional shinden style, just like what they did with the Shishinden. However, the floor of the Seiryoden is noticeably lower, and there are more partitions inside. After all, it is meant to be a residence, not a ceremonial hall.
We then retraced our steps and walked out of the Seiryoden, to head to the Kogosho.
The Kogosho is the structure where the Emperor formally received the Shogun, the Daimyos, and the Buke (bannermen under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogun).
It was burned down in 1954, but was rebuilt to what you see below in 1958.
Directly to its north is the Ogakumonjo, which was used by the Emperor as his personal “study” of sorts. This is where he studies matters on state and politics. This is also where poetry readings are held. Another special feature is the wide area in front, which is called the Kemarinoniwa or the kemari garden. It is where the palace courtiers play the game called kemari. The game supposedly goes like this: there is a ball made of deerskin, and the players pass the ball to one another without letting it touch the ground.
That looks like a great place to play in!
Now let us turn to the other side….
Directly in front of the Kogosho is a small pond with a stone bridge. The arc-shaped bridge is called Keyakibashi.
But the greater part of the pond is the Oikeniwa, or the Oike Garden. It is described as a strolling garden, and the shoreline is actually artificial, piled with rocks.
A bit of a walk further, you’ll be passing alongside the small pond. And you gotta love autumn colors!
We arrived at the Otsunegoten, which served as the residence of the Emperor (when he moved out of the Seiryoden) until the capital of Japan was officially transferred to Tokyo. It is the largest structure in the Palace grounds – even bigger than the Shishinden – and it has a total of 15 rooms.
No one is allowed to step inside, so we made do with taking what photos we can from the outside.
And across it is the Gonaitei Garden which, again, has a bridge. Don’t you just love Japanese gardens? 🙂 I do!
The last structure we passed through before arriving back at the Waiting Area (where the tour started), was the Omima, where unofficial ceremonies, such as the Bon festival and the Star festival, were conducted.
And the tour ended! There were still a lot of structures inside the Palace grounds, but that was the only one allowed to the public.
With every word uttered by the tour guide, you could tell how proud she is of her heritage, as she told us about the structures and the customs that took place in the area. I am pretty sure that this is one culture that will not be easily lost, even decades and centuries from now. Just by looking at how a lot of effort was put into its preservation, it’s bound to last for a long time yet. Lucky future Japanese kids.
We left the Kyoto Imperial Palace and the Kyoto Gyoen National Gardens to head to Nijo Castle, hoping we can still catch some sights while there’s still some light.
Now I look forward to being able to check out Tokyo Imperial Palace when I go back. *crosses fingers*