Japan - Day 3 (Part 2)

Japan – Day 3 (Part 2)

Friday, 24 May 2024

The Kyoto Imperial Palace or Kyoto Gosho was the residence of the Japanese emperors from as early as the 8^th century (794) until 1868-9 when the capital was moved to Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration period. The Emperor’s residential inner palace (dairi) was located inside the greater palace (daidairi), a large, walled complex that included the ceremonial buildings, government offices and the inner palace. Unfortunately, the palace has also been destroyed by many fires, and had to be rebuilt, with the current palace reconstructed in 1855.

The Kyoto Imperial Palace consists of 2 carriage porches for entrance and exit on a carriage, and a main gate (Kenreimon). It also has waiting rooms where visitors are allocated rooms according to their ranks. In descending order, these are the Room of the Tigers, the Room of the Cranes, and the Room of the Cherry Blossoms, named after the paintings that adorn the sliding doors of each of the rooms. Then there is the Hall for State Ceremonies (Shishinden) where important state ceremonies such as the enthronement of the emperor were held.

The Charter Oath, a five-article statement outlining the aims of the reign of Emperor Meiji, was promulgated from this building in 1868. This Oath came to be regarded as the first constitution of modern Japan. The building has been used for the enthronement of the Emperors Meiji (1868), Taisho (1915) and Showa (1928). Then there are the Emperor’s and Empress’ Thrones, the Hall for Ceremonies (for rites and rituals, important religious observations and political affairs), and the Palace for Ceremonies and Imperial Audiences (Kogosho).

The Kogosho was the place to hold ceremonies and for imperial audiences with members of the governing samurai class (buke). The building is famous as the place where discussions were held on how to deal with the Tokugawa Shogun in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration. There are 2 pretty gardens, a Palace for Study and Other Ceremonies (for academic events, waka (a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature) poetry gathering, etc) and the Imperial Residential Palace which is the living quarters of the emperor.

And then I was done, and there was actually one other place I wanted to go to in Kyoto which was the Nijo Castle, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was constructed starting 1601 by the Tokugawa Shogunate until 1868 when the shogunate ended and was replaced by the Imperial Court, whereby the castle became imperial property and was disused by 1939. Unfortunately, I ran out of time so I had to give this a miss, so sad. But it’s my fault for being overly ambitious.

Then a mad rush back to the Kyoto station where I caught my next Shinkansen to Hiroshima. But I had to get out at the Shin-Osaka station which was one stop away from Kyoto, as I had to transfer to another line from Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima on the Sakura line. Here I just about had enough time to buy something to eat, and I bought sushi which tasted no different from the sushi we get in Malaysia. Upon arriving in Hiroshima, I immediately headed to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The following is some of the information I gathered from the museum.

Hiroshima was originally a castle town which became the hub of the Chugoku Region during the Meiji Period. The first Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) made Hiroshima an important military base, where the Imperial Headquarters (primary command centre) was established, with Ujina Port utilised largely for military purposes. Each time Japan took military action, troops gathered in Hiroshima for dispatch to battle. Military facilities expanded year after year.

Hiroshima was also a leading education city, boasting the only Higher Normal School outside of Tokyo. Moreover, the accumulation of manufacturing between the world wars developed it into an industrial city. The Manchurian incident of 1931 escalated to a full-scale war with China in 1937. In 1941, Japan started the Pacific War against the United States, the United Kingdom, and their allies. The entire city of Hiroshima was caught up in the war effort. As the tide of war gradually turned against Japan, the United States launched intense air raids against the Japanese mainland, and at 8.15 am on August 6, 1945, it dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.