Nijo Castle
Warning! You will not see any samurai pictures in this post so leave if this is not what you're looking for....Nijo Castle is home of many great samurais during the Tokugawa shogunate, an era ruled by Shoguns of the Tokugawa family from 1603-1868. During this period, the Japanese Emperor has no power and everything is ruled by Shoguns--the highest-ranked samurai. Now this castle is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its "building designs, lavish paintings, and carvings" from the Momoyama culture and early Edo period--the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1867, the fifteenth Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshinobu, returned ruling power to the Emperor and in this castle was where the decision was made! So if anyone is interested in seeing this majestic piece of culture, admission only cost 600 yen (^o^)/Information resources: my speaking partner and the Nijo Castle brochure :3
This castle was built around a river as protection because invaders can't climb the castle walls to get inside. The water was not shallow like it is now.
My speaking partner and I went inside to view the castle. Unfortunately, photographing is not allowed so I am not able to show you how beautiful the designs are...but I took a picture of a picture from the brochure :)
Ohiroma Yon-no-ma Painting on the wall. Eagle on Pine tree.
Ohiroma Ichi-no-ma"In October 1867, the fifteenth Tokugawa Shogun, Yoshinobu, summoned the country's feudal lords to his room and declared that sovereignty would be restored to the Emperor. In effect, this is the room where nearly 270 years of Tokugawa military rule came to end" (quoted from the Nijo Castle brochure)
This is the garden
This part of the river is definitely not shallow like it appears to be.
These steps...ugh kills me...one step is like 1ft or sometime.
Going down everyone has to hold on to the railing unless they want to die of a concussion. The stairs is steep and each step drops deep...try running up these stairs in wooden sandals with two 1inch heels (one for front and one for back), like the samurais back then used to wear, without falling.
This is NOT cherry blossoms. It is actually plum blossom, which starts to bloom around march, while cherry blossoms bloom in April and it's petals have a sharp 'V' shape edge. Plum blossoms has a small round 'v' shape...basically the petals are round.
After the castle my speaking partner, Haruka, and I went to eat parfaits at a cafe in the station
My camera tries its best to capture the image of a night city along the river bank that runs all the way back to Hirakata city. According to Haruka, this river bank is famous for couples because the water is shallow and during spring and summer, it is a really nice and clean spot for a date. Couples come here day (or night) for what you already know.And dad, if you're reading...I wouldn't have this motion blur problem (like for all of my night and indoor pictures) if you had let me take your camera instead =(
