If you are planning a trip to Japan, you are sure to be interested in ancient Japanese castles. When you think of castles, you think of towers or turrets. But why doesn’t the famous Edo Castle in Tokyo have a keep? Why is that?
Edo Castle is a historic site that was the political center of Japan and is now used as the Imperial Palace. The keep is the symbol of the castle, an important building that watches over enemies and flaunts power. However, it is absent from the Edo castle. This is a very interesting mystery of Japanese history and culture. This article explains why Edo Castle has no tower, along with its history, in an easy-to-understand way. Knowing it before your trip will make you enjoy sightseeing in Tokyo even more!
From now on, we will successively go through the beginnings of Edo Castle, the great fire, the debate about its reconstruction and its fate after the changing times. You don’t need to know anything about history! Let’s solve the mystery together!
1. The beginnings of Edo Castle
The history of Edo Castle begins about 600 years ago: in 1457, the warlord Ota Dōkan built a small castle. But it wasn’t until 1603 that the castle took its present form, Edo Castle. In that year, a leader named Tokugawa Ieyasu started the Edo Shogunate, which ruled Japan, and chose Edo (present-day Tokyo) as its political center. And he rebuilt Edo Castle in a big way.
At this time, a magnificent keep was built at Edo Castle. It is about 50 meters high and has five large floors. It was made of wood and had beautiful white walls. The tower was a watchtower to protect the castle from enemies and a symbol to show everyone the strength of Tokugawa Ieyasu. However, the keep was destroyed in an incident.
2. A great fire
In 1657, something terrible happened in Edo. It was called the Meireki Fire. It is said that this fire burned most of the city of Edo and more than 100,000 people died. Edo Castle also failed to escape and its keep was engulfed in flames.
After the fire, the Edo shogunate had its hands full. The first priority was to restore the city to its original state and allow people to live again. But there was a problem. Whether or not to build the castle tower again.
3. should the keep be rebuilt?
Within the Edo Shogunate, opinions were divided on whether the keep should be rebuilt. Some said, “The keep is a sign of the strength of the Shogunate. It should be rebuilt,” they said. But others disagreed. We don’t have the money and we need to rebuild the city first. Besides, there is no war, so there is no need.
At that time, the Shogunate’s money had been spent on fire reconstruction and new disaster prevention measures. Building the keep was a big job, taking years to gather lumber and craftsmen. In the end, the leadership decided that, for the time being, they would hold off. This meant that the reconstruction of the tower was postponed.
4. Edo Castle without a tower
Even without the keep, Edo Castle functioned admirably as a political center. The Honmaru Goten was sumptuous and sufficient to demonstrate the authority of the Shogun. The castle was well defended with deep moats and high stone walls around it.
The absence of a tower in the castle gave Edo Castle a new meaning, as a “castle of peaceful times” rather than a “castle of battles.” It was also a sign that Japanese history had changed from war to stability.
5. A new government
A major change came in 1868. The Meiji Restoration ended the Edo shogunate and a new government was formed. Edo Castle became the “Imperial Palace” and became the residence of the Emperor. But even at this time the castle tower was not built.
The new government wanted to make Japan a modern country and built more and more European-style buildings. The keep was considered “outdated” and no plans were made to rebuild it. Today, the Imperial Palace has only a small building (tenshudai) in place of the tower.
6. Summary
Ultimately, the reason Edo Castle did not have a keep was that there was no money or need to rebuild it after its destruction by fire. Another important reason was that the role of the castle changed after a period of peace. Even in the Meiji era (1868-1912), the keep was forgotten as a relic of the past in the process of modernization.
Nevertheless, Edo Castle remains an important place that conveys the history of Japan. If you visit the Imperial Palace on a trip to Tokyo, you will be awed by its grandeur and beauty, even without a tower. Imagine ancient Japan as you stroll through the stone walls and gardens!
