Nagoya Castle Hommaru Palace Shohekiga (partition paintings)
The Hommaru Palace was one of the most excellent examples among the modern castle palaces built between the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573—1598) and the beginning of the Edo period (1603—1867).
Along with the Ninomaru Palace of Nijo Castle in Kyoto, which is designated as a National Treasure, the Hommaru Palace was also one of the best models of Japanese architecture. Both the Hommaru Palace and the castle donjon had been previously designated as National Treasures, but were lost to fire in 1945 during the war.
Each of the rooms that were decorated in the Hommaru Palace at Nagoya Castle was done so according to a different theme. The paintings on the many partitions of these rooms, attributed to masters of the Kano School, provided the palace with color.
Although the Hommaru Palace was lost to fire during the war, there are 1,047 partitions and panels that were able to be removed from the rooms and alcoves, and so remain today as Important Cultural Assets. The City of Nagoya is proceeding with plans to reproduce over 800 of these paintings, restoring them to their original magnificent beauty.