Travel/POI: Japan Kyoto 日本京都 2026.05 - 11. Niijima Former Residence 新島舊邸, Kyoto Gyoen National Garden 京都御苑

新島舊邸 Niijima Former Residence

如上一篇帖文所述，明治政府於 1873 年正式解除了對基督教長達數百年的禁令，隨後西方傳教士——尤其是美國新教傳教士——迅速湧入，他們不僅來這裡傳教，還建造學校、醫院和現代學習機構。他們對日本現代化的影響是深遠、持久的。

最典型的例子就是同志社大學。該校創辦人新島襄（1843–1890）於 1875 年從美國歸國，創辦了一所英語學校，這所學校最終發展成如今的同志社大學。新島襄堅信，基於基督教原則的教育能夠有效喚醒人的良知；他的目標是培養出能夠成為「一國之良心」的人才——即那些不僅具備知識，更擁有他在海外求學期間所汲取的自由主義與國際主義價值觀的年輕人。

「新島舊邸」（Niijima Kyūtei）－即新島襄（Niijima Jō）與其妻八重（Yae）曾經居住的故居，位於寺町通，緊鄰洛陽教會。這座建於 1878 年的住宅是帶有陽台的兩層樓木頭結構建築，風格融合了殖民地建築特色。屋內的一些細節——如西式馬桶和會客室內的供暖系統——體現了新島在西方生活多年的經歷；而建築與室內裝飾整體的質樸風格，則反映了他作為傳教士的特質。在結構上，建築也融入了日本傳統特色，例如外露的樑柱結構（即「真壁」式樣）以及十字形(「田字形」)的房間佈局，使其成為東西方風格真正融合的典範。作為明治時代早期「擬洋風」（giyōfū）建築的傑出範例——即當時日本工匠運用傳統木構技法，採用西方建築形式的風格——該建築已被指定為京都市的有形文化財產。

我們造訪時，剛好遇到一群小學生來此進行校外教學。雖然我們只能沿著花園外圍參觀，但最令我印象深刻的是那些孩子：書包和鞋子在入口處整齊地排列，每個孩子都拿著寫字板，安靜地聆聽並做著筆記，那份專注的神情彷彿出於本能。這一幕給我留下深刻的印象：紀律、專注以及對公共空間的尊重，並非外界強加給日本孩子的條條框框，而是從小培養起來的習慣，並構成了這個社會諸多成就的無聲基石。

As noted in previous post, the Meiji government formally lifted the centuries-old ban on Christianity in 1873, and what followed was a rapid influx of Western missionaries — particularly American Protestant missionaries — who came not only to preach, but to build schools, hospitals, and institutions of modern learning. Their influence on Japan's modernization was profound and lasting.

The clearest example is Doshisha University, whose founder Joseph Hardy Neesima (Niijima Jō, 1843–1890) returned from the United States in 1875 and established an English school that eventually grew into the university it is today. Niijima believed that conscience could be effectively inspired through an education grounded in Christian principles, and his goal was to nurture individuals who would become the "conscience of a nation" — young people equipped not merely with knowledge, but with the liberal, internationalist values he had absorbed during his years abroad.

Next door to Rakuyo Church on Teramachi-dori stands the Niijima Kyūtei (新島旧邸) — the actual home where Niijima Jō and his wife Yae lived. Built in 1878, the Neesima Residence is a two-story colonial-style wooden frame house, complete with a veranda. Some of its details reflect Niijima's years of living in the West — such as Western-style toilets and a heating system in the reception room — while the overall simplicity of the architecture and interiors reflects his missionary sensibilities. Structurally, the house also incorporates traditional Japanese features — exposed post-and-beam construction (shinkabe or 真壁) and a cross-shaped room arrangement — making it a genuine hybrid of East and West. It is a fine example of early Meiji giyōfū (擬洋風) architecture, the style in which Japanese carpenters of the period adapted Western forms using traditional wooden construction methods, and it has been designated a tangible cultural property of Kyoto City.

When we visited, a group of primary school children happened to be there on a class trip. We could only walk the perimeter of the garden, but what struck me most was the children themselves: school bags and shoes lined up neatly outside the entrance, each child holding a clipboard, listening quietly and taking notes with a focus that felt almost instinctive. It was a small but vivid reminder that discipline, attentiveness, and respect for shared spaces are not rules imposed on Japanese children from the outside — they are habits cultivated from the very beginning, and they form the quiet foundation for much of what this society has built.

京都御苑 Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

京都御苑是一座規模宏大的圍牆式公園，其範圍內不僅包含京都御所，還囊括了環繞御所形成的公卿貴族宅邸群落——即所謂的「公家町」。現址上的這座宮殿於 1331 年光嚴天皇即位時成為皇室的永久駐地，並一直作為歷代天皇的居所，直至 1869 年。在長達五個多世紀的時間裡，這裏始終是日本政治文化生活的核心所在。

但這一局面隨著明治維新而改變了。 1869 年，明治天皇遷都東京，隨行的還有朝廷公卿，導致原本的「公家町」迅速凋零荒廢。 1877 年明治天皇下令實施「大內保存事業」保護京都御所。隨後開展了更大規模的整治工作：清理廢棄的公卿宅邸，修築道路，並種植如今構成公園獨特景觀的茂密樹木。這裏於 1949 年正式被指定為「國民公園」並正式對外開放，總佔地面積達 65 公頃。如今，在公園範圍內，京都御所、京都仙洞御所、大宮御所與京都迎賓館並立共存，且均可免費參觀。

六十五公頃，單聽這個數字，感覺規模宏大；可一旦置身其中，那廣闊的尺度，便變成到了不可思議的程度。我們造訪那天，是從寺町御門/寺町五門（Teramachi-Gomon）進入的。當時我沒看地圖，想當然地以為路線很簡單：沿著圍牆走，找到入口，就能看到宮殿了──這能有多難呢？

結果發現，這比預想的要難得多。在烈日炙烤下，我們沿著那面看似毫無止盡的圍牆，一步步向前走。好不容易走到一個轉角，轉彎一看，眼前卻又是另一面漫長的圍牆。我們再繼續悶頭向前，途中經過一扇門，但門口有木柵圍著，只好很失望的再繼續往下走。再往前走不遠，出現了兩輛特種消防車——這些車輛並非由城市消防部門管理，而是由皇宮警察負責操作，時刻待命以保護宮內那些珍貴的木質歷史建築與國寶。它們的出現帶來了一絲令人欣喜的新鮮感。然而，那堵圍牆卻依然沒完沒了。

再又繞過一個街角、又遇到一堵圍牆之後，我們放棄了，決定往回走。直到後來，我在撰寫此文時仔細研究地圖，才恍然大悟我們當時究竟繞著什麼在轉：那是位於公園東南角的京都仙洞御所和大宮御所——其占地面積大約僅為整個園區總面積的七分之一，且與我們原本一心想找的京都御所主體完全是兩碼事。

這兩座宮殿雖易被混淆，但在歷史上卻各不相同。它們皆於 1630 年建於京都御所（皇宮）旁：仙洞御所是後水尾天皇退位後的居所，而大宮御所則是其皇后－即「女院」的居所。兩座宮殿曾多次遭火災焚毀，其中 1854 年的那場大火燒毀了所有主要的宮殿建築。大宮御所於 1867 年重建，如今作為天皇與皇后造訪京都時的下榻之所；仙洞御所的主要殿宇則未再重建，僅留下了那座著名的庭園，園內設有兩座大池塘及兩座茶室。

至於京都御所本身——包括舉行即位大典與國家儀式的宏偉正殿「紫宸殿」，以及天皇昔日處理日常政務的「清涼殿」——則完全位於公園的另一側。前往那裡需要走不同的入口，顯然，也需要更詳盡的地圖。

Kyoto Gyoen (京都御苑) is the great walled park that encompasses the Kyoto Imperial Palace and the cluster of aristocratic residences — the kuge-machi, or court nobles' quarter — that grew up around it. The palace at the current site became the permanent imperial seat in 1331, when Emperor Kōgon ascended the throne, and remained the residence of successive emperors until 1869. For more than five centuries, this compound was the beating heart of Japan's political and cultural life.

That changed with the Meiji Restoration. When Emperor Meiji transferred the capital to Tokyo in 1869, the court nobility followed, and the kuge-machi rapidly fell into decay. Preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered in 1877, and a broader effort followed to clear the derelict noble residences, lay out roads, and plant the vast tree canopy that now defines the park's character. The grounds were officially designated a National Garden in 1949 and opened to the public, covering a total of 65 hectares. Today, within the park's walls, the Kyoto Imperial Palace, the Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace, the Ōmiya Palace, and the Kyoto State Guest House all coexist — and all are free to visit.

Sixty-five hectares sounds large in the abstract. Standing inside it, the scale becomes almost incomprehensible. On the day we visited, we entered through the Teramachi-Gomon gate. Without consulting a map, I assumed the approach was simple: follow the wall, find the entrance, see the palace. How hard could it be?

Harder than expected, it turned out. Under a relentless sun, we walked and walked along what seemed like an endless pale wall. We reached one corner — and there was another long wall stretching ahead. We pressed on, eventually passing a gate blocked off by wooden railings. A little further on, two specialized fire engines appeared — vehicles operated by the Imperial Palace Police rather than the city fire department, on permanent standby to protect the wooden historic structures and national treasures within. Their presence offered a welcome moment of novelty. The wall, however, did not end.

After yet another corner and yet another wall, we gave up and turned back. It was only later, poring over a map while writing this, that I realized what we had actually been circling: the Kyoto Sento Imperial Palace and the Ōmiya Palace, tucked into the southeast corner of the park — perhaps a seventh of the total grounds, and entirely separate from the Kyoto Imperial Palace proper that we had set out to find.

The two are easily confused but historically distinct. In 1630, both palaces were built adjacent to the Kyoto Imperial Palace — the Sento as the retirement residence for Emperor Go-Mizunoo, and the Ōmiya as the residence for his consort, the Empress Dowager Nyoin. After repeated destruction by fire, the last great blaze in 1854 burned down all the main palace buildings. The Ōmiya Palace was rebuilt in 1867 and currently serves as accommodations for the Emperor and Empress during their visits to Kyoto. The Sento's main halls were never rebuilt; what survives is its celebrated garden, with two great ponds and a pair of teahouses.

The Kyoto Imperial Palace itself — with the Shishinden, the grand throne hall where enthronement ceremonies and state rites take place, and the Seiryōden, where the emperor once conducted his daily affairs — remains on the other side of the park entirely. That will require a different entrance and, clearly, a better map.