Imagining the Ninomaru Goten
This is the former site of the Ninomaru Goten, one of three administrative and residential buildings (goten) that were part of the castle complex. In contrast to the castle itself, which was sparsely occupied during peacetime, the goten were centers of activity. They contained living space for the castle lord, as well as offices and meeting rooms. The Ninomaru Goten was the second largest of the goten buildings. It comprised approximately 50 rooms and covered roughly 1,980 square meters of the second bailey.
The Ninomaru Goten was originally an auxiliary building of the Honmaru Goten. It became the castle’s primary goten after the Honmaru Goten burned down in 1727. The Ninomaru Goten, too, burned down in 1876, and the site was excavated in 1979. The building’s layout is now marked with stones. Grassy areas indicate rooms that once had tatami flooring, while red pavement denotes verandas, or areas with wooden floors. Visitors to the Ninomaru Goten would have entered through the shikidai porch on the building’s south side.
| JP | ENG | |
| 1 | 玄関 | Reception room |
| 2 | 広間 | Audience room |
| 3 | 槍の間 | Armory for guardsmen’s spears |
| 4 | 式台 | Porch |
| 5 | 内玄関 | Private reception room |
| 6 | 徒士番所 | Station for low-ranking samurai (kachi) |
| 7 | 持筒番所 | Armory for muskets |
| 8 | 炭部屋 | Room for storing charcoal |
| 9 | 廊下 | Corridor |
| 10 | 小姓番所 | Station of the castle lord’s attendants (koshō) |
| 11 | 書院 | Reception room (shoin) |
| 12 | 次の間 | Anteroom to sitting room |
| 13 | 三の間 | Sitting room |
| 14 | 入側 | Tatami-floored interior corridor |
| 15 | 坊主部屋 | Room for young male servants (bōzu) |
| 16 | 小使番所 | Servants’ quarters |
| 17 | 雑事 | All-purpose space |
| 18 | 草履取部屋 | Sandal-bearer’s room |
| 19 | 家具部屋 | Storage for furniture |
| 20 | かまど | Hearth (kamado) |
| 21 | 台所 | Kitchen |
| 22 | 土台所 | Scullery |
| 23 | 居間 | Living room |
| 24 | 台所役所 | Room for scullery servants |
| 25 | 納戸部屋 | Storage for personal items |
| 26 | 近習番所 | On-call room for attendants (kinju) |
| 27 | 物置 | Storage for household items |
| 28 | 寝間 | Bedchamber |
| 29 | 賄所役所 | Office of the accountant (makanaidokoro) |
| 30 | 賄所 | Room where accounts are tallied |
| 31 | 賄所番所 | Room for the accountant |
| 32 | 近習部屋 | Room for attendants (kinju) |
| 33 | 用人部屋 | Room for lower-ranking retainers (yōnin) |
| 34 | 庭 | Garden |
| 35 | 井戸 | Well |
| 36 | 番所 | Guardroom |
| 37 | 金部屋 | Treasury |
| 38 | 雪隠 | Toilet |
| 39 | 味噌部屋 | Room for storing miso |
| 40 | 元鎮部屋 | Room for mid-ranking retainers (ganchin) |
| 41 | 年寄部屋 | Room for senior retainers (toshiyori) |