The
Jurakudai or
Jurakutei (聚楽第) was a lavish palace constructed at the order of
Toyotomi Hideyoshiwas a daimyo in the Sengoku period who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle. He is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the...
in
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Construction began in 1586, when Hideyoshi had taken the post of kanpaku, and required 19 months. The location is in present-day
Kamigyōis one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Located in the center of the present-day city of Kyoto, Japan it previously occupied the northern region of the ancient capital of Kyoto. The Kamo River flows on the eastern border of the ward...
, on the site where the Imperial palace had stood in the
Heian periodThe is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyoto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Confucianism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
.
Hideyoshi moved to Jurakudai from
Osaka Castleis a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.Originally called Ozakajō, it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one...
following completion, just after his victory over the
Shimazu familyThe were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.The Shimazu were descendants of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan. The founder, Shimazu Tadahisa , was a son of Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo with the sister of Hiki Yoshikazu...
in
Kyūshūor Kyushu is the 3rd-largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku , Chinzei , and Tsukushi-no-shima...
.
The
Jurakudai or
Jurakutei (聚楽第) was a lavish palace constructed at the order of
Toyotomi Hideyoshiwas a daimyo in the Sengoku period who unified Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle. He is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the...
in
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Construction began in 1586, when Hideyoshi had taken the post of kanpaku, and required 19 months. The location is in present-day
Kamigyōis one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Located in the center of the present-day city of Kyoto, Japan it previously occupied the northern region of the ancient capital of Kyoto. The Kamo River flows on the eastern border of the ward...
, on the site where the Imperial palace had stood in the
Heian periodThe is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyoto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Confucianism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
.
Hideyoshi moved to Jurakudai from
Osaka Castleis a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.Originally called Ozakajō, it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one...
following completion, just after his victory over the
Shimazu familyThe were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.The Shimazu were descendants of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan. The founder, Shimazu Tadahisa , was a son of Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo with the sister of Hiki Yoshikazu...
in
Kyūshūor Kyushu is the 3rd-largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku , Chinzei , and Tsukushi-no-shima...
. He made it the base for his administration.
In 1588, Hideyoshi held a lavish entertainment of the reigning
Emperor Go-YōzeiEmperor Go-Yōzei was the 107th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession...
before the assembled
daimyois a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in premodern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
. He also met
Tokugawa Ieyasu
here. He provided quarters for
Sen no Rikyu, is considered the historical figure with the most profound influence on chanoyu, the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of wabi-cha. Rikyū is known by many names; for convenience this article will refer to him as Rikyū throughout....
within the grounds, and hosted the famous Great Kitano Tea Ceremony in nearby Kitano in 1587.
Hideyoshi resigned the post of Kanpaku in 1591, and his nephew
Toyotomi Hidetsuguwas a nephew and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who lived during the Sengoku period of the 16th century of Japan.A practitioner of the shudo tradition, Hidetsugu had a number of wakashu...
assumed the position, taking residence at Jurakudai. Hidetsugu hosted a second visit by the same emperor. In 1594, construction began on Hideyoshi's new
Fushimi Castle', also known as Momoyama Castle or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a castle in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward. The current structure is a 1964 replica of the original built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi....
, and when, in 1595, Hidetsugu was forced to commit
seppukuis a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai honor code, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, as a form of capital punishment for samurai who have...
, the Jurakudai was dismantled, with many parts being reassembled at Fushimi.
Said to have had gold leaf on the roofing tiles, the Jurakudai was extremely lavish. Although it was a residential palace, it had defensive ramparts and moats typical of a castle. Some buildings of the Jurakudai survive, among them the Hiun-kaku at Nishi Hongan-ji, the
KaramonThe is a type of gate seen in Japanese architecture. It is characterized by the usage of karahafu, an undulating bargeboard peculiar to Japan. Karamon are often used at the entrances of Japanese castles, Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, and have historically been a symbol of...
at
Daitoku-jiis a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan, and originated as a small monastery founded in 1315 or 1319 by the monk Shūhō Myōcho , who is better known by the title Daitō Kokushi bestowed on him by the...
, and the front gate at Myōkaku-ji (all in Kyoto).
Recent excavations have yielded some tiles bearing gold leaf.
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