Kyoto Imperial Palace(Gosho) in the cold winter rain was a sober experience. Gosho does not stand out in Kyoto sightseeing spots in comparison to Kiyomizu temple or Zen gardens, so there are usually not so many people around it. Today it rained and was very cold, only a couple of people were in sight. Gosho is not so grand as Forbidden city in Beijing or St. Peter's square in Rome, but that's the beauty of it. It is obvious at looking Gosho that there is no moat or no high walls surrounding Gosho to defend emperors from enemies. I recently read the book to explain the reason of it, and I don't know if it is true or not but the reason is that emperors are admired by the peoples so there has never such an enemy to attack them. In that respect, emperors has been far above shoguns, who feared the attacks from other warloads. This is obvious in another Kyoto spot of Nijo castle. So it is very relaxing and comfortable to walk in Gosho.
