Tracking ancient footprints around Nijo-jo Castle
In 794, the capital was moved from Heijo-kyo Palace in Nara to Heian-kyo Palace in Kyoto. The dairi which housed the emperorfs private quarters and administrative offices was near the current Nijo-jo Castle. Nijo-jo Castle was built by the Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa and is where the 15th generation Shogun Yoshinobu Tokugawa returned the reigns of government to the imperial court. From the Heian period until the end of the Edo Period, this was the center of politics for the authoritarian at the time. It was the ghearth of the capital in Kyoto.
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- 1.JR Nijyo Station
- 2.Kobun-in Hostel Site
- This site is where a hostel for students studying to be public officials stayed in the early Heian Period.
- 3.Shinsen-en Temple
- The site once was a private garden located adjacent to the private quarters of the Emperor Kanmu who ordered the construction of the Heian-kyo Palace.
- 4.Nijo-jo Castle
- The Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa built this castle as a residence for himself when in Kyoto.
- 5.Jizo Shrine for Help in Child Rearing
- This well-groomed place of worship on the north side of Nijo-jo Castle is a landmark jizo shrine.
- 6.Nue-ike Pond Monument
- This monument stands where there once was a lake.
- 7.Kyomachiya Bunka-kan
- Across the street from an oil shop of a prosperous merchant from the middle Edo Period is a renovated row house that operates as a museum.
- 8.Heian-kyu Palace Publisher Site
- On this site once stood the offices and workshop of a publisher who, in the Heian Period, transcribed, archived and managed books.
- 9.Site of Covered Breezeway within Heian-kyu Palace
- This is where once stood a covered breezeway with a central dividing wall that separated the emperorfs private quarters from the outside.
- 10.Heian-kyu Palace Thrown Room Site
- The thrown room of Heian-kyu Palace was a large majestic building located within the Chodoin, a compound that also included administrative offices.
- 11.Heiankyo Sosei-kan Museum
- This museum on the first floor of the Kyoto Asny Building is for learning about the Heian-kyo Palace.
- 12.Heian-kyu Palace Banquet Hall Site
- Known as the Burakuden, the banquet hall that hosted state events of the Heian-kyu Palace once stood here.
- 13.Shusseinari-jinja Shrine
- In Japan, Inari-jinja Shrines are venerated as a wish for hearty harvests of rice, inari meaning "rice".
- 14.JR Nijyo Station
