Efforts To Reconstruct Edo Castle Tower Keep Enter 18th Year
tenshu
or
tenshukaku.
Variously translated as the tower keep, main keep, or donjon, the structures were meant to be the most memorable parts of Japanese fortifications.
Evolving from defensive turrets, they sometimes served as living spaces or storage, but their primary job was to tell everyone far and wide that the tower owner was a great lord with lots of disposable income and many men at his disposal. Unsurprisingly, these symbols of political, military and cultural power are most strongly associated with Oda Nobunaga, the
Demon King
himself.
There are only 12 original tower keeps left in all of Japan, which sadly doesn't include the one at Edo Castle, better known today as the Imperial Palace. It is said to have been the most magnificent tenshu ever constructed, which is one of the reasons why a group has been trying to rebuild it for the past 18 years.
List of Contents:
Resurrecting History
Obstacles and Opportunities
If You Build It, They Will Come
Depiction of Edo Castle (c.17th century), author unknown | wikimedia commons
Resurrecting History
After Tokugawa Ieyasu moved into Edo Castle near the completion of his unification of Japan in the late 16th century, he wanted something that would symbolize a new era in the country's history. Since Osaka Castle — the stronghold of his chief rival Toyotomi Hideyoshi — had a tenshu adorned in black plaster and gold, Ieyasu opted to build for himself a keep of pure white. Subsequent leaders would rebuild the structure to better reflect their own personality.
The third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, apparently had personality to spare because his Edo Castle keep was the largest tenshu in all of Japan upon its completion in 1638. Standing at 59 meters tall, it was about the height of a 20-story building. It also featured copper-plated roofs and ornamentation.
Tragically, it was destroyed during the Great Fire of Meireki of 1657. There were talks of rebuilding the tenshu, but they were dropped due to the scale of the devastation. The fire killed 20% of Edo's population and was so fierce,
the prison was opened
, so the inmates wouldn't burn to death.
Only a stone foundation remains in what is today the Imperial Palace East Gardens. Since 2006, the NPO Edo Castle Tower Reconstruction Group has been trying to get the tenshu rebuilt with the help of their chairperson Sukeaki Ota, an 18th generation descendant of Ota Dokan, the original architect and builder of Edo Castle.
Obstacles and Opportunities
There's a reason why the reconstruction project has taken nearly two decades with no actual tenshu to show for it, and it's not for a lack of trying. The NPO has filed a detailed reconstruction plan with the government that accurately identifies the original location of Iemitsu's keep and aims to restore it based on historical blueprints.
The organization has also located 200
miyadaiku
carpenters specializing in traditional Japanese architecture like shrines and temples. They would be indispensable to bringing the Edo Castle tenshu back to life using original methods as the NPO promised. They even apparently know where to get large-diameter domestic
hinoki
cypress, the original material used for the tower. So why has there been an 18-year-long holdup?
Well, for one, the foundation is a national cultural property, and modern building codes forbid the construction of purely wooden structures past the third story. Securing government exceptions for the project has proven difficult, and then, of course, there would have to be archeological surveys, all conducted on the Imperial Palace grounds. This isn't even mentioning the cost, which is expected to be in the hundreds of billions of yen.
Even if all of that wasn't an issue, many may ask: what's the point? As of August 2023, only around 5,100 people had signed a petition in support of the reconstruction project. Is now really the best time to create a faux-historical castle tower?
If You Build It, They Will Come
Osaka Castle's tenshu was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1665 and only rebuilt in 1931. A lot of that was damaged during World War II, and the tower that stands in the heart of Osaka and serves as one of the symbols of the city today only dates back to 1997. It also has elevators inside and is basically a cool-shaped modern museum. And yet, Osaka Castle is the most visited castle in Japan, reportedly attracting 2.5 million visitors every year.
So, it would seem that the age of a castle's tenshu doesn't really matter as long as parts of the original fortification remain and have a fascinating history. That is more than true about Edo Castle, even without mentioning the
decapitated head of the god of wrath
buried right by its doorstep.
Proponents of the reconstruction claim that a restored Edo Castle tower keep could become a new symbol of the capital that would ultimately pay for itself. The promotional and tourism opportunities offered by such a new travel destination cannot be overstated. There is also a lot to be said about keeping traditional Japanese architecture and carpentry alive, which this tenshu would also help facilitate. Despite this, progress has been slow.
If you'd like to donate to the endeavor or volunteer your time, you can contact the NPO through
its official site
or
.
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