Nijo Castle is the fortified residence of the Tokugawa shoguns in Japan. The castle complex consists of many buildings and several beautiful gardens. The central building of the castle is the Ninomaru Palace. The residence area is approximately 275,000 sq. m. m.
Construction of the castle began on the orders of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1601. Construction was completed in 1626, during the reign of shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu.
Parts of Fushimi Castle were moved here in 1625–1626. Since Nijo was built mainly from wood, much of it was destroyed by fires in 1788 and 1791.
After the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, Nijo Castle came into the possession of the imperial family and was renamed Nijo Palace. Since 1939, the Nijo complex has been taken over by the Kyoto City Administration and has been open to visitors year-round since 1940.
In 1994, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site - Historic Kyoto. It is also one of Japan's national treasures.
On the grounds of the castle there are several gardens, cherry groves and Japanese plum trees. The Ninomaru Garden includes a pond with three islands, a display of artfully selected and arranged rocks and topiary.
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