Kyoto Noble Village

As touched on in chapter 7, it was during Hideyoshi’s reign that a series of policies catalyzed the creation of an aristocratic enclave surrounding the Imperial Palace. What had begun as a more-or-less natural congregation of the civil aristocracy—motivated by tax exemptions and promises of self-policing privileges—turned into a de facto relocation program under

The Tokugawa. In 1615, the shogunate issued the Laws of the Imperial Household and Aristocratic Families (Kinchu narabini kuge shohatto), a document of breathtaking political audacity that limited the affairs of the emperor and aristocracy to the gentle arts, learning, and ceremony. Domestication was rewarded with stipends as well as pledges of financial assistance for palace construction and upkeep. Receipt of the latter was contingent upon construction taking place within a defined area close to the palaces of the reigning and retired emperors (see Figure 8.2). The result was the formation of what Mary Elizabeth Berry has aptly called a “royal ghetto.”13 Inscriptions on Kyodai-ezu, a map published in 1686, show that this “noble village,” even at an early stage, encompassed the residential compounds of all the most esteemed aristocratic families.14 These included the Konoe, Hachijo, Nijo, Fushimi, Yamashina, Reizei, Kujo, Takatsukasa, Arisugawa, Asukai, Ichijo, Karasumaru, Kanshuji, Kikutei, and the Hino. Interspersed among these in no apparent order were protector shrines (chinjusha) and the residential temples of princely abbots (monzeki satobo).

Numerous reconstructions over the course of the long Tokugawa period resulted in a general expansion and a better definition of the enclave’s boundaries.15 At some point in the early eighteenth century, it even gained a name, appearing in textual records alternatively as “Kuge-machi” (Noble town) or “Kinri,” meaning more generally “the palace.”16 Maps such as Dairizu produced near the end of the period depict a densely urbanized, rectangular area covering about 245 acres, ranging from Karasuma in the west to Teramachi in the east, Marutama-chi in the south to a block north of Imadegawa in the north (Figure 8.2).

8.2. Da'ir'izu, depicting the Kyoto Noble Village, 1863. Courtesy of International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)

Following the emperor’s move to Edo (which was thereby renamed Tokyo, meaning the “Eastern Capital”) in 1868, the enclave was mostly abandoned. Only the former Imperial Palace and palace of the retired emperor were maintained, while over time all the aristocratic residences were removed.17 In 1877, a wall was built around most of the former area to create the “Kyoto Imperial Park” (Kyoto gyoen). That large green space now dominates Kyoto’s urban landscape and the palace is used regularly for imperial visits and major festivals.