01/08/09, 13:12:56 UTC

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Main compound of Nijojo castle to shut out tourists because of quake risk

asahi.com

The main compound of Nijojo castle, part of a a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be closed to visitors for at least five years because it could collapse in a major earthquake.

The city of Kyoto had been opening the main compound to the public twice a year, in spring and autumn, but decided to suspend services for five years or more after it was found that the entrance wing and the Goshoin wing lacked adequate quake-resistance strength.

Both wings are designated by the government as important cultural properties.

The Kyoto Institute of Technology, consigned by the city, checked four parts of the castle in a state-aided project conducted from last summer through spring.

The institute found that the wings could crumble in an earthquake with an intensity of upper 6 or above on the Japanese scale of 7.

Specifically, the tiled roofs were too heavy to withstand such a disastrous temblor. The roof of the entrance wing, for example, is estimated to weigh about 120 kilograms per square meter.

Both wings were built in the closing days of the Edo Period (1603-1867) and were renovated and transferred in the early Meiji Era (1868-1912).

The city will start full-fledged inspections of the main compound, but other parts of the castle will be open to visitors as usual.

The institute's research also found that a temblor with an intensity of at least upper 6 would likely damage Ninomaru Palace in the castle's secondary compound and destroy the clay wall on the castle's east gate.

The palace has been designated by the government as a national treasure, while the gate is an important cultural property.

The residential castle of shoguns, completed by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, is located in the heart of Japan's ancient capital.

Nijojo castle is noted not only for its historic buildings and interior paintings, but also its beautiful gardens.

In 1994, the castle was one of the historic monuments of ancient Kyoto listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 Printable Version  | published Jul 11, 2007