Nijō Castle

This guide to Nijo Castle in Kyoto starts with the nightingale floors of Ninomaru Palace, built to chirp under every footstep so no one could approach unheard, and traces the castle's construction under Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603. It follows the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled from here for over two centuries, down to a day in October 1867 when the last shogun, Yoshinobu, gathered his vassals in the grand audience hall. Walk on toward the Ohiroma hall, where painted tigers and pines still glare from the walls.