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文化財ウィークConstructing Edo Castle
This section introduces six items related to the construction of Edo Castle, selected from the Materials on the Construction of Edo Castle (Kōra Household collection), which has been designated an Important Cultural Property.
- Itemization of Carpenters’ Wages and Work
- Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6158-2-1
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This is a record of the unit costs of materials and labor that served as the basis for estimates and calculations in construction projects. It presents the labor requirements per tsubo (approx. 3.3 square meters), categorized by the rank of the building, its specifications, and materials used. It also sets the wages for each carpenter and calculates the necessary expenses.
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- Cross-Sectional Plan of the Shogun’s Rest Quarters in the Honmaru Palace
- Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6166-10
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This is a sectional drawing, cut along the north-south axis, of the Gokyūsokunoma chamber used by the Shogun as a rest space. The room depicted is the Shogun’s sleeping quarters, which included a tokonoma alcove and staggered shelves. The diagram records the dimensions in meticulous detail.
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- Illustrations of Shiguchi Joinery by the Shogunate Construction Office
- Tokyo Shiryō Collection 784-50
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A carpenter’s manual by Kōra Munekazu (1661–1733). The manual explains architectural construction methods through diagrams and contains a total of 133 illustrations of structures such as gates and wells. Shiguchi refers to the techniques of joining building materials. The items on display show diagrams of a well and a toilet.
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- Foundation Plan of the Grand Hall in the Honmaru Palace
- Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6162-17
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A floor plan of the foundation of Edo Castle's Ō-hiroma (Grand Hall), regarded as the most prestigious space within the Honmaru Palace. The plan uses color coding to indicate differences in the types and dimensions of timber employed. The section colored light purple is the foundation supporting the nimochibashira, the load-bearing pillars that carried the weight of the roof and ceiling, for which the thickest keyaki (Zelkova serrata) timber was used.
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- List of Painters for the New Edo Castle Walls
- Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6157-2
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A record listing the names of the painters and the locations they were assigned to decorate with wall and partition paintings in the Edo Castle Honmaru Palace. Overall supervision of the project was carried out by Kanō Seisen’in (1796–1846), the Shogunate's official head painter.
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- Edo Castle Turret Ornament
- Tokyo Shiryō Collection 6192-10
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A detailed drawing of a shifun ornament on a castle turret. The illustration clearly shows how the ornament was installed on the ridge: a core of oak wood was inserted into the hollow shifun, which was then fixed by passing the core through a supporting base and the ridge beam.
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