Residence 1
📍68 Honmachi, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0012, Japan
1600 – 1603“Before I unified Japan at Sekigahara, Himeji was my staging post. I gave it to my son-in-law Ikeda Terumasa to rebuild in the new style — white plaster walls and curving rooflines rising seven storeys above the plain. A castle should inspire awe in friend and enemy alike. Today, four centuries after I held power here, those white walls still stand unchanged. This is what good governance looks like: structures that outlast their builder.”
👍 LovedThe strategic position — visible for miles across the plain of Harima, commanding every approach
👎 DislikedThe constant state of military readiness required, which allowed little rest even in peacetime
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today
Residence 2
📍541 Nijo-jo-cho, Horikawa Nishi-iru, Nijo-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8301, Japan
1603 – 1605“Kyoto was the emperor's city, so I needed my presence here to be felt. Nijo Castle was not a fortress — it was a statement of authority. The floors of the Ninomaru Palace were built to creak and sing with every footstep: no assassin could cross them in silence. I received the emperor's court here and was declared Shogun in 1603. Within two years I had retired in favour of my son Hidetada, making plain that Tokugawa rule was a dynasty, not a man.”
👍 LovedThe nightingale floors — beauty and security combined in a single brilliant architectural solution
👎 DislikedThe proximity to the Imperial Court, which was always a source of political complexity I had to manage carefully
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today
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