The
Tokyo Imperial Palace has been the primary residence for the Emperor of Japan since 1888. Before the Tokyo Imperial Palace was constructed the previous building the Edo Castle was home to the shogun of Japan.
The Edo Castle housed the Shogun from 1603 to 1867. During the Meiji Restoration was a time period in 1868 where traditional Japanese rule was restored and the concept of the Shogun was thrown out in 1868 the Shogunate was overthrown, and the countries capital (previously in Kyoto) was moved to Tokyo.
During The Meiji Restoration Emperor Meiji, restored powers to the traditional Emperor moved the capital of Japan and was hailed as a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu. The new Emperor made great strives to restructure the political and social structure of the country which is what lead to the emergence of the modernized Japan that we have today.
The Emperor of Japan announces to the sovereigns of all foreign countries and to their subjects that permission has been granted to the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu to return the governing power in accordance with his own request. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the internal and external affairs of the country. Consequently the title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun, in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the conduct of foreign affairs. It is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this announcement.
— Mutsuhito, January 3, 1868
The emperor turned focus away from the values of the Shogun and instead focused more on unification, education, and instilled new values in the Japanese people. 20 years after taking power the new Emperor built the Tokyo Imperial Palace as a replacement for the once Edo Castle.
During
World War 2 the palace was destroyed but it was reconstructed with the same style.
The palace is not generally open to the public so the Japanese Emperor is kept under safeguard but there are guided tours of the grounds. In fact, the only time that visitors are allowed to enter the inner palace grounds and to see the Imperial Family is during New Year's (where the Emperor gives his speech) and during the Emperor's Birthday.
To this day the emperor and the imperial family have remained as a symbol the Japanese people and have been housed in the same palace for over 100+ years paying respects to the ways of old.
