Nishinomaru

Japanese: 西丸 - にしのまる

Generally, it means a bailey located to the west of the main citadel of a castle, and historically, the Nishimaru of Edo Castle is well known. The land of the Nishimaru of Edo Castle was outside the castle until the Sengoku period, but after Tokugawa Ieyasu entered the castle, the castle was expanded and made into a bailey in 1592 (Bunroku 1). With the construction of the Nishimaru, the sea surface (Hibiya Inlet) on the east side of the castle town was reclaimed, and what would later become Nishimarushita (currently the Imperial Palace Plaza) was created. The Nishimaru was originally called the "Retirement Castle" or "New Castle." It was probably intended as Ieyasu's residence after retirement. Ieyasu himself did not live in the Nishimaru, but from the second shogun Hidetada onwards, it was used as the residence of the shogun's taiko (senior shogun) or the heir to the shogun after his retirement.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

一般的には城の本丸の西側に位置する郭の意で，歴史的には江戸城の西丸が著名。江戸城西丸の地は，戦国時代までは城外であったが，徳川家康が入城してのち1592年(文禄1)に城を拡張して一郭とした。西丸建設にともない城下東側の海面(日比谷入江)が埋め立てられ，のちの西丸下(現，皇居前広場)ができた。西丸は初め〈御隠居城〉〈新城〉などと呼ばれた。家康隠退後の住居の予定であったのであろう。家康自身は西丸には住まなかったが，2代秀忠以後は将軍隠居後の大御所，あるいは将軍世子（せいし）の居城として使用された。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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