There is a tumultuous history behind the splendid Kano family paintings displayed on the room partitions in the Ninomaru Palace.
  First, come in through the main gate (the Higashi-Ote-mon) and turn left after you enter the castle grounds. Soon you will see Kara Gate (Kara-mon), the entrance to Ninomaru Palace. The Kara Gate is done in the yotsu-ashi gate style (literally, a "4-legged gate," traditionally used for only very important gates) and it has four support pillars, two along each of the main side pillars. The brilliant outward appearance created by the gold leaf and detailed carving covering the gate makes a deep impression on every visitor that comes to witness the prosperity of the Tokugawa family.
Designated a National Treasure as a unique example of the elaborate, yet traditional bukefu-shoin-zukuri (townhouse style) architecture of the early Edo Period, Ninomaru Palace has a floor area of 3,300 square meters. The palace is formed of six linked sections composing 33 rooms, with more than 800 tatami mats. The main six sections are, after the carriage entrance, the Tozamurai (samurai retainers' room), the Shikidai (workroom for important retainers), the Ohiroma (the grand chamber used by the shogun for meetings with various daimyo [feudal lords]), the Sotetsu-no-ma (a connecting corridor with a wooden floor), the Kuro-Shoin (the "Black Drawing Room," which was the shogun's personal inner audience chamber), and the Shiro-Shoin (the "White Drawing Room," which was the shogun’s living quarters).
The rooms all have many akarishoji (shoji screens employing thin paper to let more light in) and fusuma (papered sliding doors), creating a well lit, open atmosphere. Furthermore, the second and third rooms of the Tozamurai section feature a painting called the Chikuringunkozu (bamboo grove and tiger illustration) and the second room of the Kuro-Shoin (the shogun's personal inner audience chamber) features the Oukakijizu (pheasant under cherry blossoms illustration), among other fine works of art. Additionally, the fusuma (room partitions) are filled with other paintings by the famous Kano family.
In particular, the Matsukujyakuzu (pine and peacock illustration) painted by Kano Tanyuu in the first and second rooms of Ohiroma (the grand chamber the Shogun used for meetings with various daimyo [feudal lords]) is a masterpiece. This painting runs over all the room partitions to create a bold, deep structure in the picture with a flowing and elegant, yet detailed, style that is at once breathtaking and stately.
   
External view of the Ninomaru Palace
External view of the Ninomaru Palace
Ninomaru Palace
Ninomaru Palace
Kara Gate
Kara Gate

First room of the Ohiroma   First room of the Ohiroma Matsukujyakuzu (pine and peacock illustration)   Second room of the Kuro-Shoin Oukakijizu (pheasant under cherry blossoms illustration)
First room of the Ohiroma   First room of the Ohiroma
Matsukujyakuzu (pine and peacock illustration)
  Second room of the Kuro-Shoin
Oukakijizu (pheasant under cherry blossoms illustration)
Fourth room of the Ohiroma Matsutakazu (pine and eagle illustration)   Second room of the Tozamurai Chikuringunkozu (bamboo grove and tiger illustration)
Fourth room of the Ohiroma
Matsutakazu (pine and eagle illustration)
  Second room of the Tozamurai
Chikuringunkozu (bamboo grove and tiger illustration)
 
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