An ornamental gate, Nijo Castle

This ostentatious gate is inside of Nijo Castle in Kyoto. The Castle was not a fortness but virtually another residence and office of Tokugawa Shogun, living in Tokyo, in Kyoto. It was built in 1600s, when the Capital removed from Kyoto to Tokyo and Tokugawa Shogun started to rule all over Japan.

This gate is ornamental, unlike Kyoto's traditional architecture, partly because Tokugawa Shogun lived in Edo, the old name of Tokyo, and needed to show Kyoto's people his great power by the architecture.

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