Panoramic view of the Imperial Palace, c. 1920. At center are Nijubashi, Fushimi Tower and the bronze monument dedicated to Nanko (Masashige Kusunoki); at left, government ministries in the Kasumigaseki district; at right, the palace plaza and, beyond, the Imperial Household Ministry.

See also:
Imperial Palace Gates, c. 1905
The Bronze Statue of Masashige Kusunoki, c. 1930

“The centre of the city still proclaims its origins. There sits the Imperial Palace, ubiquitous, directly in the centre, built on the site of Edo Castle. This is what the visitor sees of Old Japan; this is what the resident must go around on the way home. It is the hub of the city, its core. From the air, the palace grounds look like the Acropolis, the streets of Tokyo ebbing away from this centre as do the streets in Athens.

“… There in Edo/Tokyo sits power, it would appear, surrounded by its inner moats, its outer ones having long since been swallowed by the city it sired. It is a real citadel, less imposing perhaps than that of Cairo, but apparently just as indestructible.”

– Tokyo: A View of the City, by Donald Richie, 1999