The nishinomaru (西の丸?, western enceinte) was the location of the palaces and residences of the retired shogun and the heir-apparent for a while. The outer part of the Nishinomaru to the east (today's Outer Gardens of the Imperial Palace) was the site of various residences of daimyo. The Nishinomaru is bordered by moats to the west such as the Dōkan-bori, Sakurada-bori and Gaisen-bori to the south, Kikyō-bori and Hamaguri-bori to the north. After each fire in the Honmaru, the shogun normally moved into the Nishinomaru, although it was also destroyed by fire in 1853. On May 5, 1873, the Nishinomaru residence burned down. On its site, the imperial palace was built in the Meiji era.
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