Reverie at a Fantastical Fountain

My favorite part of Akasaka Palace can be found behind the enormous building.

I am not alone in the admiration of this fountain.

The spraying waters draw you in.

To see the mythical beasts within.

Four griffin statues are arrayed at the corners.

It must be amazing to see this at night. For us mortals, we can only see it as part of the paid tour on days the palace is open.

I wish I could give information on who sculpted this marvelous fountain, the date it was made, but so far no luck. Searched in English and Japanese.

One thing to note, the griffins are not all the same. For example two have the shield under the right paw and two under the left paw.

At first I thought those were lion heads that water pours from at the base of the griffins. Lions are popular symbols of royalty. However they look like they have tusks so may be boar heads which makes sense since boars do exist in Japan. Either way both are seen as powerful animals and symbols of prosperity.

Along with the boar heads there are turtles. Turtles are seen as creatures of stability and good luck.

The fish with uplifted fins and long serpentine tails at the top remind me of shachihoko on Japanese roofs. These are used for protection, especially from fire. I can't help but think of these fish as joyous in the rain of falling water.

While griffin or gryphon may seem western, the earliest examples found are in Ancient Egypt and Iran. From there the image traveled to Central Asia. Seen as the king of beasts and protectors they are used as a symbol of rulers. Which may be why they were chosen to be part of the fountain at the palace for the Prince.

 I really enjoyed spending time at the fountain. It's a nice place to dream at. I hope you enjoyed my photos of it.

Where there is a Western Palace in Japan

During my trip to Tokyo last August I spent time up in the Roppongi Mori Tower getting a good look at Tokyo. I was intrigued by a large green roofed building set in a sea of trees. Later I discovered it was the Akasaka Palace, the sole Neo-Baroque style building in Japan. So on this trip off I was to see it for myself. I and a number of other people walked down a long avenue of trees to the impressive front gates.

Gates fit for royalty. Regent Crown Prince Hirohito that is. It was constructed starting in 1899 ending in 1909 as the Tōgū Palace but the Crown Prince only lived there for five years. Following that it has served as government offices and currently is the State Guest House. Thus the reason for all the security.

I was lucky with my timing because right before my visit the King of Saudi Arabia was in residence so the Palace and grounds were closed. When it's not you walk through a long line of security and more to get a ticket to tour the inside and the grounds. A young woman was very eager to assist me getting through the line. Turned out she did a home-stay in Portland, Oregon. Small world sometimes. While the tour inside is limited, the decor with carved moldings, hand painted ceilings and more is amazing. Sadly no photos allowed inside but they can be found online.

Once outside you are free to walk around the building and in some other areas. But as inside, security and cameras were everywhere. I was careful not to photograph much of that but I didn't realize there were people even up on the roof.

Just part of the side of this immense building with a guy up on top peering down at everyone.

I have no idea what they were doing up there. They look like construction workers but could be security wearing clothing to blend into the building. Here is a good look at that copper roof. The exterior walls are granite.

One of the two circular towers. The building was designed by a team of architects including Tokuma Katayama who created several western styled buildings in Japan.

Just a few photos from the back of the Palace.

One can get an idea of the size of this building. The grounds in the back have flowering trees and more, including an amazing fountain that will get it's own blog post.

For now, here are a few details from the back of the Palace.

After some time in the back I walked around to the front of the Palace. This is where state guests would arrive at.

Just one of the side entrances.

The pastel paint on many things gives a real French feeling.

Apparently the ostentatious ornamentation was even too much for the Crown Prince who chose to live elsewhere once he became Emperor. 

Still it is impressive to see. It is good they are making use of this building in some form.

The Imperial Chrysanthemum seal or mon along with two figures of Japanese samurai armor. 

If I remember correctly these are phoenix birds to represent the Crown Prince. 

Reminds me of the Nihonbashi Bridge.

The main entrance doors with the Imperial mon along with paulownia flower mon which may represent the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan.

And the doors next to it which do not have the Imperial mon.

 A look back at the Palace as I began the long walk back to the front gate.

But of course there was another ostentatious gate to go through.

 Part way on the long walk are two fountains off to the sides. Slight reminders of Versailles except for the pruned Japanese pine trees.

 And another look at that amazing front gate, from the inside. Interesting to note that one side the lamp glass is blue and the other side is white. I have no idea why but I'm sure there is a reason for it.

It was definitely worth it to see Akasaka Palace. Even if you don't understand Japanese, viewing the place was enjoyable if you like architecture or history. It definitely took me to another time and felt good to get out of the Tokyo crowds.

The Government website for visiting Akasaka Palace is here. It's important to check because it is not always open along with the rules for visiting.

There are also photographs of the inside of the Palace at the Government website here. I spent a good amount of time staring up at the ceilings, especially in the Hagoromo-no-Ma room. There one sees the sky with flowers floating down from above.

Tokyo from Above

I mentioned Mori Tower in my last post. That was my destination for the day. The 52nd floor to be exact.

Which offers amazing views of Tokyo. So of course I took photos. So follow as we go around Tokyo. Starting with Tokyo Tower and Zojo-ji Temple just to the right of it. I've posted a few times about Zojo-ji and Tokyo Tower. I did not get over there this trip. Still it was great to see them from the air.

These photos are going clockwise around the tower. So moving right from Tokyo Tower you see Tokyo Bay with Odaiba Island. The building with the gold ball is Fuji TV.  Right there is Rainbow Bridge. The bridge farther out is Tokyo Gate Bridge and the dark band on the horizon is Chiba Prefecture. Must be an amazing view on a clear day.

Continuing clockwise if it was clear you would be looking out toward Haneda Airport and Yokohama beyond that. The tall beige building is the Forest Tower Condos.

Turning just a little clockwise the building in the middle of the green space is the Tokyo Metropolitan Library in Minato. Tokyo seems to go on forever.

If it was clear we could probably see Mount Fuji in the center of this photo. But sadly it wasn't. What I could see is that big stretch of roadway which is probably part of the Shuto Expressway.

Something a little nicer, lots of green space. The closest area is the really large Aoyama Cemetery. I have not been there but maybe one day I will take a look. Further out on the left is probably Shibuya and Yoyogi Park and Meiji Shrine Gyoen. The tall buildings are most likely Shinjuku with Shinjuku Gyoen just to the right of them.

The building with the blue green roof in the middle of that lovely green space is Akasaka Palace which is now used as a State Guest House. Very impressive Neo-Baroque building.

Still going clockwise and you can see a really tiny Sky Tree on the right way out there. Just to the left of there is a lot of green space. That is the Imperial Palace and Grounds.

Here is a closer look at that. When the photo is at original size the towers such as Fujimi-yagura and others can be seen along with the Imperial Palace. That same day they showed Emperor Akihito's video where he stated he was considering stepping down. Gave me a feeling of seeing a bit of history as I looked at the Imperial Palace that day.

Continuing clockwise it's almost back to where the photos started. Sky Tree is almost center and if you go right beyond the photo you would see Tokyo Tower again.

So that's a quick tour of Tokyo. I wish I could point out more things but one discovers when there that area boundaries aren't always that easy to find and there are sooooo many buildings I always was grateful when I could figure out where I was at.