The heat has come back a little. A lunchtime stroll out of Palaceside Building brings quite a sweat, but the shade has a cool breeze of its own… So: Fujimi Yagura in the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace (Edo Castle). Since last autumn you can get a little closer (photo above).
A yagura was set at castle corners or over gates for watch and defense. In peacetime it seems to have served many uses, including storage. Edo Castle is said to have had 19; only Fushimi Yagura, Sakurada Niju Yagura and Fujimi Yagura remain. Among them Fujimi is the only three-story yagura. The building is about 16 meters high, the stone walls about 15, total floor area 323.08 square meters.
It is said to have been founded around 1606 (Keicho 11), burned in the Meireki Great Fire (1657), and rebuilt in 1659 (Manji 2) into its present form. Almost the air of a tenshu. No wonder: the tenshu also burned in that fire and was never rebuilt; Fujimi Yagura served in its place. At 23 meters elevation it was second only to the tenshu platform (about 30 meters), but behind the decision not to rebuild the tenshu was instruction from Hoshina Masayuki, lord of Aizu, half-brother of the third shogun Iemitsu and guardian of the fourth, Ietsuna. As I wrote in this blog on December 12, 2014 (https://www.mai-b.co.jp/guide/2014/12/part4-6.html), Hoshina argued that “a tenshu is a thing of recent times; it is of no real military use, only for viewing. Manpower should not be spent on it” (Kansei Choshu Shokafu), putting relief and recovery first.
“Fujimi” — from Ietsuna on, shoguns surely enjoyed Mount Fuji from here. They are also said to have watched fireworks at Ryogoku and the sea at Shinagawa.
A long explanation; let’s walk. See the purple line on the map at left (from the Imperial Household Agency site). From Takebashi up Kii-no-kuni Slope to Kitahanebashi Gate. Just inside the East Gardens the tenshu-platform stone walls rise in front of you. Slip past them onto the open former Honmaru, cut south across the plaza, and Fujimi Yagura is at the far right rear. Imagine passing the Fujimi Tamon introduced earlier (west edge, mid-plaza). It stands at the southeast corner of the Honmaru.
The topmost photo was taken as close as you can now get. Once, even the nearest view was only the photo at right. A fence stopped you from getting any
closer. As in the photo below, today’s fence has been pulled back toward the yagura perhaps 15 meters from its old line (red dots), so you can see it much nearer. The old fence stood at the stone “Fujimi Yagura” marker (blue circle in the photo below); please check when you go.
That said, what you see from here is the “back” and “seat.” The front majesty can be seen after entering Kikyomon on a general palace tour.
