Established by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu right near the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, the Nijō castle was made to be a symbol of the shogunate’s power, who by then was just consolidating the reunification of Japan.

Finished 25 years later by Ieyasu’s grandson Iemitsu, the complex also comprises several gardens, and among them the oldest is the Ninomaru garden (in the photo) created by a famous landscape architect and tea master, Kobori Enshu.

Ninomaru Garden, Nijō Castle, Kyoto

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Nakamise, one of the oldest shopping centers in Japan