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The villa was first constructed, however, around part of the former Kishu Tokugawa residence in Edo (former Tokyo), which became the Akasaka Rikyu when it was presented to the Imperial family in 1872. In 1898 it was dismantled, and the main three-story section was brought to Nikko. This part of the residence served as the living quarters for the emperor and, along with the emperor\u2019s bedroom, includes a study, worship room, and observatory room, which offer remarkable views of the gardens beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to this, a preexisting residence on the site, which had once belonged to a leading business man, Nempo Kobayashi, was connected to the villa, and used as living quarters by the empress. The empress traditionally resided in a separate section of the villa to the emperor, except for when the two would dine together in the dining room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The emperor and empress, who spent about a month at Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa over the summer, would bring with them a staff of approximately 100 liege and court ladies. But considering the villa was comprised of 106 rooms, there was plenty of space to host the large entourage, who occupied 83 of these rooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is impressive to witness the attention to detail undertaken in the villa, with the embellishments in each room varying slightly depending on its occupant. In the emperor\u2019s living quarters, the ornamental metal ware covering the nails, kugi kakushi<\/em>, are gold and adorned with chrysanthemum flowers \u2013 the Imperial family crest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the rooms assigned to ladies in waiting, however, the kugi kakushi<\/em> are of a much simpler design, and mostly black in colour. Even the tatami bordering, tatami-beri<\/em>, differs in each area of the villa \u2013 silk or cotton bordering with a pattern of small flowers in rooms used by the emperor, and silk, non-patterned bordering in rooms used by the empress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Imperial Villa was used by the Imperial family until 1947. After the end of the war, the villa was first turned into a museum, but was later transferred to the Tochigi Prefectural Government, who undertook restorations to the villa and surrounding gardens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Special care was taken during restorations to preserve the original design of the villa, which blends an interesting mixture of Edo and early Meiji period architecture. The wooden interior of the villa, which naturally darkens over time, was restored with a process called akuarai<\/em> in which water, then a solution made from ash, are used to clean the wood and return it to its original appearance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/15ec3b38785f33bdbe26f10de81fd47a-1.jpg\")
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