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The castle then became the center of shogunal residence & rule, from [[1603]] onwards. It suffered severe damage from fire on a number of occasions, perhaps most grievously in the [[1657]] [[Great Meireki Fire]], when the ''tenshu'' (main keep) was destroyed; the ''tenshu'' was never rebuilt.

The castle then became the center of shogunal residence & rule, from [[1603]] onwards. It suffered severe damage from fire on a number of occasions, perhaps most grievously in the [[1657]] [[Great Meireki Fire]], when the ''tenshu'' (main keep) was destroyed; the ''tenshu'' was never rebuilt.

The castle burnt down again in [[1873]], and the [[Meiji Emperor]], his Empress, and the [[Imperial Household Ministry]] relocated to the [[Akasaka Temporary Palace]] until [[1888]], when the castle's reconstruction as the Tokyo Imperial Palace was complete.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, Splendid Monarchy, University of California Press (1996), 66-67.</ref>

The castle burnt down again in [[1873]], and the [[Meiji Emperor]], his Empress, and the [[Imperial Household Ministry]] relocated to the [[Akasaka Temporary Palace]] until [[1888]], when the castle's reconstruction as the Tokyo Imperial Palace was complete.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, Splendid Monarchy, University of California Press (1996), 66-67.</ref> In the intervening time before reconstruction began, the area in and around the castle grounds became overgrown with vegetation, and overrun with wildlife including foxes and badgers. One former retainer of [[Satsuma han]] lamented that it was "unbearable to look at."<ref>Fujitani, 41.</ref>

 

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