From Palaceside to East Gardens—continuing the tenshu base stone walls.
As written Dec 9, the walls rebuilt in 1658 by Kaga lord Maeda Tsunanori after the 1657 Meireki fire remain today.
Stones were originally Izu stone; fire damaged surfaces, all replaced with granite in finer cut work. Reusable original stones went to Nakasuzume-mon and elsewhere (report later).
The keep was never rebuilt. Aizu lord Hojo Masayuki, regent to Shogun Ietsuna and brother of Iemitsu, decided—yes, the same lord who buried Meireki fire victims at Ryogoku (later Eko-in), blogged March 14.
Bravo. (●＾o＾●)
Peace had come; towering keeps no longer intimidated the realm. Thereafter Fujimi Yagura served as practical keep;
other domains followed suit.
Honmaru Palace stood on the lawn before the base =photo top but burned repeatedly; after the 1863 fire it was not rebuilt—functions moved to Nishi-no-maru. Southeast of the base, an 1860 fire destroyed the O-oku—
Edo Castle—history everywhere. (^_^)