The Tokyo Imperial Palace occupies the former grounds of Edo Castle, once the political center of the Tokugawa shogunate. Moats, stone walls, and gates preserve traces of that earlier city, while the palace serves as the emperor’s official residence and workplace.
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The broad moat and stone walls around the Imperial Palace belong to the site’s earlier life as Edo Castle. Tokugawa Ieyasu greatly expanded the castle at the start of the seventeenth century, and it served as Japan’s political center for more than 260 years.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- The Imperial Palace occupies much of the former Edo Castle site.
- Edo Castle served as Japan’s political center for more than 260 years under the Tokugawa shoguns.
- The Imperial Palace has served as the residence of successive emperors since 1868.
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