On August 1, 2024, a preview was held at the Honmaru Palace, an important cultural property of Nijo Castle (Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City), ahead of its opening to the public in September. Officials toured the palace, built in early modern times and featuring modern furnishings, which once belonged to a former imperial family.
The original building of the Honmaru Palace was lost in the Tenmei fire during the Edo period. The current building was relocated in 1894 from the former Katsura Palace, which was built to the north of the Kyoto Imperial Palace at the end of the Edo period, and tells the story of the castle's history as a detached palace for the imperial family in modern times. Kyoto City, which owns and manages the palace, has closed it to the public since fiscal 2006 due to its lack of strength, and has carried out preservation repairs and seismic reinforcement at a total cost of 1.57 billion yen. It will be open to the public from September 1 for the first time in 18 years.
At the preview, city officials gave an explanation about the palace. The three rooms in the main building, the Goshoin, feature lamps from the Taisho period and are surrounded by pure white walls and sliding doors. There is no consensus as to whether these were Western-style white-walled arrangements or a base for painting on the sliding screens, but they are said to convey a unique blend of early modern and modern elements. Many of the other rooms still have 237 sliding screen paintings, and visitors can get up close and personal with the originals by artists from the late Edo period, such as the Kyo Kano and Maruyama schools. The ceremony also featured a musical performance by students from Kyoto Horikawa Music High School.
To view the Honmaru Palace, reservations must be made in advance via the Nijo Castle website. In addition to the castle admission fee (800 yen for adults), an additional fee (1,000 yen for adults) is charged.
