Chiyoda, Chiyoda, Tokyo

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 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.

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.

The Tokyo Imperial Palace (皇居, Kōkyo, literally 'Imperial Residence') is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the Fukiage Palace (吹上御所, Fukiage gosho) where the Emperor has his living quarters, the main palace (宮殿, Kyūden) where various ceremonies and receptions take place, some residences of the Imperial Family, an archive, museums and administrative offices. It is built on the site of the old Edo Castle. The total area including the gardens is 1.15 square kilometres (0.44 sq mi). During the height of the 1980s Japanese property bubble, the palace grounds were valued by some to be more than the value of all of the real estate in the U.S. state of California.

The Imperial Palace East Gardens is a historical garden in The Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The gardens however, were first in use by the Tokugawa shogunate. There is a bridge which leads to Sakashita-mon gate nearby is the Imperial Household Agency building and Tokyo Imperial Palace (or "kyuden") The garden was built on the grounds of Edo Castle. The Ote-mon Gate functioned as the main gate of Edo Castle. It was used by the feudal lords who came to stay in the castle under the alternating attendance system of the Tokugawa shogunate, as such it was a very important gate. All the gardens areas were used as defence. They are translated as “inner circle of defense” (honmaru), “second circle of defense” (ninomaru), and “third circle of defense” (sannomaru). Suwa-no-cha-ya, was built by Emperor Meiji in 1912 and is a tea house. Emperor Meiji also lived in the Nishinomaru palace near the gardens, he lived at the Nishinomaru from 1869-73.

Kōjimachi (麹町 or 麴町) is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

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.

Edo Castle (江戸城, Edo-jō), also known as Chiyoda Castle (千代田城, Chiyoda-jō), is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is today part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace and is in Chiyoda, Tokyo (then known as Edo), Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate there. It was the residence of the shōgun and location of the shogunate, and also functioned as the military capital during the Edo period of Japanese history. After the resignation of the shōgun and the Meiji Restoration, it became the Tokyo Imperial Palace. Some moats, walls and ramparts of the castle survive to this day. However, the grounds were more extensive during the Edo period, with Tokyo Station and the Marunouchi section of the city lying within the outermost moat. It also encompassed Kitanomaru Park, the Nippon Budokan Hall and other landmarks of the surrounding area.

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.

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 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.