Tokyo Imperial Palace (皇居, kōkyo; literally , "Imperial Residence") is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo close to Tokyo Station and contains several buildings including the main palace (Kyūden (宮殿), the private residences of the imperial family, an archive, museum and administrative offices. It is built on the site of the old Edo castle. The total area including the gardens is 7.41 square kilometres (2.86 sq mi).
After the capitulation of the Shogunate and the Meiji Restoration, the inhabitants, including the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, were required to vacate the premises of the Edo Castle. In the second year of Meiji, on the 23rd day of the 10th month (1868), the emperor left Kyoto Imperial Palace for Tokyo. The Edo castle compound became the new imperial residence and was renamed Tokyo Castle (東京城, Tokyo-jō) in October 1868, and then renamed Imperial Castle (皇城, Kōjō) in 1869. Previous fires already destroyed the Honmaru area containing the old donjon (which itself burned in the 1657 Meireki fire). On the night of 5 May 1873, a fire consumed the Nishinomaru Palace (formerly the shogun's residence), and
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