is a public park in Chiyoda,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

located north of the

Tokyo Imperial Palace The 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 where the Emperor has his living quarters, the where va ...

. The park is the location of both the

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

, an indoor sports and performance venue, the Science Museum, and the

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo The in Tokyo, Japan, is the foremost museum collecting and exhibiting modern Japanese art. This Tokyo museum is also known by the English acronym MOMAT (National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo). The museum is known for its collection of 20th-centu ...

. As of May 1, 2008, Kitanomaru Park area had a registered population of 598, of which 361 are male and 237 are female, although this population almost exclusively consists of serving members and dependents of the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...

of the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

History

Kitanomaru Park was originally the location of the northernmost section of

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established ...

, known as the . It was used as both a medicinal garden and a secure residential compound for members of the Tokugawa extended family. The park is almost encircled by deep moats and defensive fortifications from the original castle. Prior to 1969, when Kitanomaru Park was opened, this district had been called because many ''daikan'' (local governors) lived in the place soon after the construction of Edo Castle. Today, the name Daikanchō is known more commonly as the name of an interchange of the

Inner Circular Route The , signed as Route C1, is one of the routes of the Shuto Expressway system serving the central part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The route is a complete loop around the central Tokyo wards of Chiyoda, Chūō, and Minato, with a total length ...

of the

Shuto Expressway is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are grade-separated (elevated roads or tunnels) and central routes have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that requi ...

Two gated entrances survive from time of Edo Castle the ''Shimizu-mon'' and further north the ''Tayasu-mon''. The Tayasu-mon was the northernmost gate of Edo Castle and consists of both a Korai-mon style outer gate and a Yagura-mon style fortified inner gatehouse with highly stacked stone walls forming a narrow defensive courtyard between the two. An inscription on the outer side of the Tayasu-mon states the gate was constructed in 1685, making it one of the oldest surviving structures of the original castle.

Education

operates public elementary and junior high schools. Fujimi Elementary School (富士見小学校) is the zoned elementary school for Kitanomaru Park. There is a freedom of choice system for junior high schools in Chiyoda Ward, and so there are no specific junior high school zones.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitanomaru Koen Parks and gardens in Tokyo Districts of Chiyoda, Tokyo