Nijo Castle was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shōguns. Completed in 1626, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside. “The Ninomaru Palace (inside the castle grounds) consists of multiple separate buildings that are connected with each other by corridors. The tour route passes by multiple waiting and audience rooms. Only the highest ranked visitors were allowed all the way into the main audience room where the shogun would sit on an elevated floor, flanked by bodyguards hidden behind doors. Lower ranked visitors would be allowed only as far as the adjoining rooms without direct view of the shogun. The palace rooms feature decorated ceilings and beautifully painted sliding doors” that were more intricate and beautiful the closer you got to the shogun.
Inside the Palace, the corridors were built with so-called nightingale floors, as they squeak when stepped upon as a security measure against intruders. They definitely chirped as Mother and I (and all the other hundreds of visitors) walked on them. (Some say they were designed to squeak, others think not.)
