The Nagoya Castle Honmaru Goten Palace was built in 1615 by Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, for his 9th son Yoshinao. Along with the Nijo Castle's Ninomaru Goten Palace in Kyoto, it was a representative of a traditional Japanese architecture called "Shoin-Zukuri".
See the sculpture “Bamboo grass, camellia and wild geese” in the transom of the Joraku-den hall of the Honmaru Goten Palace. Only the Joraku-den hall, which was the highest-rank room as the abode of the shogun, had carved transoms. The restoration was done by craftsmen of "Inami Carving", a traditional craft of Inami in Toyama Prefecture.
Yoshinao and his family lived here for more than five years. A part of the building was rebuilt in 1634 when the third shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa visited Kyoto, but after that, it was rarely used as accommodations for the shogun and remained closed until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
In 1930, before the war, it was designated as a national treasure along with the castle tower ahead of Himeji Castle and Nijo Castle as a World Heritage Site. If it had remained, it must have been a World Heritage site as well, but it was burned down by US air raids in 1945, near the end of World War II. Before the air raid, a large part of the building was measured and photographed, and the Japanese sliding doors with paintings had been evacuated and stored in other places. That made possible an accurate reconstruction, and it was opened to the public in 2018. However, other place, where most of them were stored, was not a remote place but a warehouse located across the moat inside the Nagoya Castle. In Japan, both in the past and now, the awareness of risk management for cultural properties is either lacking or insufficient. It seems that the screen paintings of the Honmaru Goten Palace just happened that the fire did not spread.
In the rebuilt palace, the Japanese sliding doors with paintings and engravings in vivid colors were inlaid among the plain wood with the scent of wood, creating a calm and gorgeous atmosphere. Those conveyed that the previous palace before burning down had not been spared the expense and been a special cultural property. As for the restoration, while taking measures to withstand earthquakes in the parts that could not be seen, the parts that appeared on the surface were not half-baked in a modern style. The total construction cost was 15 billion yen, of which 5 billion yen was donated by citizens. It's just Nagoya, which spends money properly when necessary.
Cultural properties in Kyoto and Nara have fallen and faded after hundreds of years, but the Honmaru Palace conveyed what a freshly born space was like when such cultural properties were completed. I took it for granted that the timeworn elegance of an old building was Japanese architecture, but the Honmaru Palace was completely different, youthful, and fresh. I noticed that Japanese architecture was the architecture of the time, in which such a feature eventually obtained the sense of wabi-sabi (the aesthetic sense in Japanese architecture with transience and imperfection).
The Honmaru Palace also visualizes the fact that Japanese Shoin-zukuri architecture is an expression of ranking. The subjects of the paintings on the screen paintings were decided according to the ranking of the room, from Sojyu (animal), Kacho (flower and bird), and people, to Sansui (landscape). The technique also shifted from a color painting on a gold background in the low rank to an ink painting in the highest rank. The low-ranked entrance and corridor used a board and batten ceiling meanwhile the higher-ranked Omote Shoin Hall and Joraku-den Hall used the higher-ranked coffered ceilings. The ceiling also developed into a raised double fold-up style, and the panels on the ceiling became more gorgeous with lacquer work.
The Honmaru Goten Palace was rarely used for a long time, but the difference between the interior of the rooms that visitors were led into clearly showed their status and relationships with their masters, so it expresses pretty faithful the manners of the rank in Shoin-zukuri architecture. In the manners that show the rank, the screen painting becomes more serene as the rank rises, while the ceiling becomes more luxurious. The vectors are the opposite. Was that the way to keep a balance?
Even so, the sense of the USA (and Russia), which easily destroyed top-class cultural properties that were not military facilities, needs to be verified.
Entrance Hall wing
Entrance Hall wing : See the primary room built at the Honmaru Palace. The title of the screen painting is "Bamboo Forest, Leopard and Tiger", which is thought to be painted by Naganobu Kano. As for the theme of the screen painting, the animal (Soujyu - running beast) showed the lowest status, and it was painted with low-rank techniques, color painting on a gold background. Those indicated that the entrance had a low-rank room among the rooms of the palace.Entrance Hall wing : See the primary room from the secondary room. Both ceilings are unfinished wooden board and batten ceiling. Gold and tiger were intended to intimidate visitors.Entrance Hall wing : The title of the screen painting in the secondary room is the same as the primary room. However, it seems that the painter was not Naganobu Kano who painted the screen paining in the primary room.
Omote Shoin Hall (the Main Hall) wing
Omote Shoin Hall (the Main Hall) wing : It was the official audience venue for the lord with guests and vassals. See the raised room from the primary room. On the screen painting in the raised room, flowers and birds (Kacho) that were superior to animals (Soujyu - running beasts) are painted on a gold background. The screen painting in the raised room is a reproduction of one by Sadanobu Kano.Omote Shoin Hall (the Main Hall) wing : See the raised room on the left, the primary room in front, the secondary room and the tertiary room in the back on the right. The title of the sliding screen painting in the primary room is "Cherry blossoms and pheasants" depicting cherry trees in full bloom and pheasants.Omote Shoin Hall (the Main Hall) wing : See the raised room where Yoshinao Tokugawa seated. The title of the screen painting is "Pine and Plum". The ceiling is a raised coffered ceiling made of unfinished wood.Omote Shoin Hall (the Main Hall) wing : See the detail of the screen painting "Pine and Plum" in the raised room.
Taimen-jo Hall (Reception Hall) wing
Taimen-jo Hall (Reception Hall) wing : It is the place for private banquets or meetings for the lord with his relatives or vassals. The front is a tatami corridor partially covered with blue mats for protection, and the right is the meeting room used for meetings and banquets between the feudal lord and his relatives. The theme of the screen paintings are people who were higher rank than the flowers and birds (Kacho).Taimen-jo Hall (Reception Hall) wing : In the screen paintings in the raised room, various people set in Kyoto are painted. Mt. Atagoyama is painted on the Toko-no-ma (alcove), and the Kamo horse race on the front. It is said to be painted by Jin-nojo Kano. The raised coffered ceiling is coated with black lacquer.Taimen-jo Hall (Reception Hall) wing : In the lower room, various people set in Wakayama are depicted. A group pf imperial envoys visiting a shrine are on the left hand, a boat festival in the center, and salt making on the right hand. It is associated with Wakayama, the hometown of Haruhime, the lawful wife of Yoshinao.Taimen-jo Hall (Reception Hall) wing : See the detail of the screen painting of the raised room, depicting the Kamo horse race in Kyoto.Taimen-jo Hall (Reception Hall) wing : See the detail of the screen painting of the raised room, depicting the Kamo horse race in Kyoto.
Joraku-den Hall (Shogun Accommodation Hall) wing
Joraku-den Hall (Shogun Accommodation Hall) wing : See the raised room of the Joraku-den wing, which was built in 1634 for staying in the way of the third Shogun Iemitsu's visit to Kyoto. Unlike the other areas, screen paintings are painted on even the upper wall. The highest-ranked theme in the screen painting is landscape, and it is painted with the highest-ranked ink painting technique, and the ceiling is a coffered ceiling with double folds. The subject matter of Kano Tanyu's screen paintings in the raised room and the primary room is based on the "Teikan-zu," which depicts the good and bad deeds of successive Chinese emperors. The screen paintings in front is "Teikan-zu (Fuyo Riko),'' a story about a vassal admonishing the emperor who was trying to hire a talkative bastard who gave an explanation to the emperor. The Toko-no-ma alcove is "Teikanzu (Iko Shaso)", a story about listening to the opinions of honest vassals and punishing negligent favorite vassals.Joraku-den Hall (Shogun Accommodation Hall) wing : See the prymary room. The upper part is a gorgeous carved transom. The screen paintings on the fusuma sliding doors in front are the "Teikan-zu (Ho-sho Syurei),'' which tells the story of treating excellent local officials with respect.Joraku-den Hall (Shogun Accommodation Hall) wing : See the tertiary room. Four screen paintings on the fusuma sliding doors depict four seasons. The front painting is "Plum, Bamboo and Birds in Snow" by Tan-yu Kano.Joraku-den Hall (Shogun Accommodation Hall) wing : See the secondary room. Four screen paintings on the fusuma sliding doors by Tan-yu Kano depict the tastes of Chinese writers (Chines harp, game of go, calligraphy, and painting).Joraku-den Hall (Shogun Accommodation Hall) wing : See the detail of the raised room.Joraku-den Hall (Shogun Accommodation Hall) wing : See the black lacquer coffered ceiling with lacquer work in the secondary room.
Kuroki Shoin Hall (Inner Reception Hall) wing
Kuroki Shoin Hall (Inner Reception Hall) wing : It is located further back than Joraku-den Hall wing, and has a quiet atmosphere. Unlike the other parts of the Honmaru Goten Palace that used white cypress, the Kuroki Shoin used pine which color is more black therefore it was named Kuroki (black tree). There is a theory that the accommodations for Ieyasu Tokugawa as the first shogun were relocated from Kiyosu Castle to here, and the technique of screen painting is said to be different from that of the rest of the Honmaru Goten Palace painted by the Kano school painters. The theme of the screen paintings is Sansui (landscape) in the primary room, the people in the secondary room, and Kacho (flower and bird) in the entry side, expressing the difference in rank within one study.
Yudono Shoin (Bathing Room) wing
Yudono Shoin (Bathing Room) wing : It consists of a bathroom and a sitting room for resting, and was completed in 1634. The screen paintings in the primary room are "Throw fans into a river".Yudono Shoin (Bathing Room) wing : See the bathhouse with a gable. The bath at that time was a steam bath.
Exterior appearance
See the entrance hall wing. It's been 10 years since it was completed in 2013, so the color of the wood is starting to be sunbuned.In 2013, the first phase of the reconstruction of the Honmaru Goten Palace began. The photo was shot in 2018, just after the completion of the third phase. The wood color is youngful. The front is the Joraku-den wing, the back is the Omote Shoin wing, and the entrance wing is projecting beyond the Omote Shoin. Each wing is arranged in the form of Ganko (lining up shoulder to sholder like flying geese).See the Honmaru Palace and Nagoya Castle Tower from the garden of Honmaru Goten Palace. Before the war, wooden Nagoya Castle's and Honmaru Goten Palace were the first castle buildings to be designated as national treasures. The castle tower, which was destroyed by bombing by the US military during the war, was rebuilt with concrete after the war, but the appearance was restored with the original dimensions measured before the war. In the Edo period, the landscape seen at this place must have looked like today.
