Nijō-jo Castle, Kyoyo, Japan has two concentric rings of fortifications, each consisting of a wall and a wide moat. The outer wall has three gates while the inner wall has two. The surface area of the castle is 68 acres, of which buildings occupy 2 acres.
In 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, ordered all the feudal lords in Western Japan to contribute to the construction of Nijō-jo Castle, which was completed in 1626. It was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns. The Tokugawa Shogunate used Edo (Tokyo) as the capital city, but Kyoto continued to be the home of the Imperial Court. Kyoto Imperial Palace is located northeast of Nijo-jo Castle. Delicate cherry blossom petals artfully embellish the exquisite masonry, contrasting the evanescence of the cherry blossom with the permanence of the ancient stonework.