Tokyo Imperial Palace

The Chōwaden Reception Hall (長和殿, Chōwaden) is the largest building of the Tokyo Imperial Palace located in Tokyo, Japan. It is where the Japanese emperor and other members of the Japanese imperial family appear every new year and for the emperor's birthday. It is also where some official state ceremonies and functions are held. Members of the Japanese imperial family stand behind bulletproof glass on the veranda of the Chōwaden Reception Hall when appearing before the public. It is customary for the emperor to address the people who assemble in the Kyūden Tōtei Plaza in front of the building on January 2 (the day after New Year's Day) and February 23 (Emperor Naruhito's birthday) of each year. Crowds can often be seen waving Japanese flags and shouting "BANZAI" on such occasions. At one end of the Chōwaden Reception Hall is the Kitakuruma-yose entrance for visiting dignitaries.

Chiyoda (千代田, Chiyoda) is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. In Japanese it translates as a "field of a thousand generations" Chiyoda covers the grounds of the Imperial Palace, and nothing else. It does not have any subdivisions, and no chome or postal code designation. The address of the palace itself and of the Imperial Household Agency is Chiyoda 1-1, the address of the Hospital of the Imperial Household is Chiyoda 1-2, the Imperial Guard Headquarters is Chiyoda 1-3. Its small population consists of Imperial guards and dependents. The Imperial family itself is not included in the registered population.

The Imperial Household Agency (宮内庁, Kunai-chō) (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it was known as the Imperial Household Ministry (宮内省, Kunai-shō). The Agency is unique among conventional government agencies and ministries, in that it does not directly report to the Prime Minister at the cabinet level, nor is it affected by legislation that establishes it as an Independent Administrative Institution.

The Three Palace Sanctuaries (宮中三殿, Kyūchū sanden) are a group of structures in the precincts of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Japan. They are used in imperial religious ceremonies, including weddings and enthronements. The three sanctuaries are: Kashiko-dokoro (賢所) – the central shrine, enshrining a replica of the mirror Yata no Kagami, representing the mythological ancestress of the Imperial Family, Amaterasu. (For the enthronements in Kyoto of Emperor Taishō in 1915 and of Emperor Shōwa in 1928, the mirror was transported by special rolling stock known as the Kashiko-dokoro Jōgyosha (賢所乗御車) from the name of this sanctuary.) The Yasakani no magatama or Sacred Jewel, one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, is also said to be housed in the Kashiko-dokoro. Kōrei-den (皇霊殿) – the Ancestral Spirits Sanctuary, enshrining the departed spirits of the Imperial Family from one year after their death. Shin-den (神殿) – the Sanctuary of the Kami, enshrining the Amatsukami (天津神) from Takamagahara and the Kunitsukami (国津神) from Japanese mythology.

The Fukiage Palace (Japanese: 吹上御所, Hepburn: Fukiage Gosho) is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan, located in the Fukiage Garden on the grounds of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.　

The Matsu no Ōrōka (松之大廊下, Great Pine Corridor or Hallway) was part of Edo Castle. The name derives from the painted shōji (sliding doors) that were decorated with motifs of Japanese pine trees (matsu). It was the passage which led to the Shiroshoin (白書院) from the Ōhiroma of the Honnmaru Goten (本丸御殿). The corridor measured around 50 meters in length and 4 meters in width. The corridor was the second longest with tatami mats in the castle. On March 14, 1701, Asano Takumi no Kami Naganori attacked and injured Kira Kozuke no Suke Yoshihisa after an insult there, which later led to the bloody incident of the Forty-seven rōnin. The corridor does not exist anymore just like the rest of the Shōgun's palace shortly before or during the Meiji Restoration in the later half of the 19th century. A stone marker with an inscription stands today in its place. The Great Pine Corridor has entered legends in stories such as the Chūshingura and also features in movies, parodies and TV advertisements.

Sakurada Gate (桜田門, sakurada-mon) is a gate at Tokyo Imperial Palace, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the location of the Sakuradamon Incident in 1860. Opposite the gate of Sakurada Gate is the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which shares "Sakurada Gate" as a metonym (akin to London's Scotland Yard).

The Sakuradamon Incident (桜田門外の変, Sakuradamon-gai no Hen, or 桜田門の変 Sakuradamon no Hen) was the assassination of Ii Naosuke, Chief Minister (Tairō) of the Tokugawa Shogunate, on March 24, 1860 by rōnin samurai of the Mito Domain and Satsuma Domain, outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle.

Sakuradamon Station (桜田門駅, Sakuradamon-eki) is a subway station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro. It is numbered Y-17.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) (警視庁, Keishichō) serves as the prefectural police department of Tokyo Metropolis. Founded in 1874, it is headed by a Superintendent-General, who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission, and approved by the Prime Minister. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, with a staff of more than 40,000 police officers, and over 2,800 civilian personnel, manages 102 stations in the prefecture.The main building of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is located in the Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo. Built in 1980, it is 18 stories tall, a large wedge-shaped building with a cylindrical tower. It is easily seen from the street and a well-known landmark. The HQ building is located in Sakurada Gate, so it is also metonymically called "Sakurada Gate".

Edo Castle Gates (江戸城三十六見附) are the gates of Edo Castle in Tokyo. They were placed at crossing points (bridges) of castle moats. Originally, there were 36gates in all. Some remain, others completely demolished. Today, the central quarter of the castle is Tokyo Imperial Palace. So, some gates on the inner moats are still used as security check points. However, most on the outer moats don't exist. Some district in Tokyo are named after the castle gates.Gate is "Mon" (門) in Japanese. Bridge is "Hashi" or "Bashi" (橋).

The Ōoku (大奥, "great interior") refers to the women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning shōgun resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful daimyō, such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term.