The Edojo Castle | The Short Summary Of Edojo Castle

日本の名所sightseeings in japan

The Edojo Castle / The Short Summary Of The Edojo Castle

The Edojo Castle is now called the Imperial Palace at Marunouchi in Tokyo. It was also called the Chiyoda-jo Castle. It is a flatland castle. The Edo-jo Castle owned by the Tokugawa Clan and also it was the base of the Edo Bakufu (the Edo Shogunate) in the Edo Period.

From late Heian Period to Kamakura Period, there was a castle built by the Edo Clan, the descendants of Masatsune Chichibu, the grandchild of Yoshifumi Taira at Edo near the Edo-jo Castle However, it was not called Edo-jo at that time.

In 1457, Dokan Ota, a samurai worrier in Muromachi Period, built Edo-jo castle. This is the first event that the Edo-jo Castle appeared on the history of Japan and it was also called Edo-jo first. After Dokan assassinated, his son named his direct descendant family Edo Ota Clan, and he based in the Edo-jo Castle. In 1524, Suketaka Ota surrendered to Hojo Clan in Odawara (Kanagawa prefecture) and opened Edo-jo castle In 1564. After that, the descendants of Dokan Ota served Hojo in Odawara, Satomi in Awa-no-kuni (The southern Chiba prefecture)and Satake in Hitachi-no-kuni (Ibaraki prefecture), finally the Ota served Tokugawa in Edo. In 1590, Hideyoshi Toyotomi won the Siege of Odawara, the Hojo Clan ruined, the Satomi declined, the Satake moved to north, so Ieyasu Tokugawa moved to the Edo castle, and he gained the position of the Shogun who was the military leader of samurais could control Japan, so he founded the Bakufu (the Edo Shogunate)in Edo.

In 1600, Ieyasu Tokugawa won the Battle of Sekigahara, and he gained the position of the Shogun who was the military leader of samurais could control Japan, so he founded the Bakufu (the Edo Shogunate)in Edo in 1603. When Ieyasu first moved in the Edo-jo Castle, it was very simple and small castle, because Edo had been a small fishing village since Ieyasu moved. After the Sekigahara and gaining the leading power of samurai, he started the extension works of the castle with some voluntarily helps by some lords in Japan.Kiyomasa Kato of course helped it. The construction was completed in 1636. The area of the Edo-jo Castle was 958,811 square meter, and it has 123 gates, 30 bridges, a large castle tower, a small castle tower and 46 some kinds of castle towers. However ,it had fired severl time, then some have lost. The Tokugawa Clans based the Edo-jo Caslte to control the samurai sosiety and Japan for 265 years. In 1867, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, the 15th shogun of the Edo Bakufu opened the castle to the Imperial Troops. After the Meiji Restoration, the Edo-jo Castle changed the Imperial Palace.

Now the part of the castle opens for the citizens such as Kokyo Gaien National Park. In the garden, you could see the statue of Dokan Ota.

Moreover, thousands of runners go around the sidewalk along the mout surrounding the Edojo Castle.You could walk along the mout, you must find a lot about Japan.

参考
宮内省ホームページ
環境省ホームページ
デジタル大辞林
明鏡国語辞典
ブリタニカ国際大百科
クロニック戦国全史
日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)
ウィッキペディア

PageTop