The Shoin was the king’s study. This is where he would review the documents presented to him and apply his seal. The king had the final say on all decisions for the kingdom, and though he was revered as a god, it was easy to imagine he was kept quite busy.

The Shoin was also often used as a reception hall. For example, if guests from Satsuma or China were to visit, he would have to greet them. Since it was expected for him to hold a certain level of knowledge, he would write papers, study Chinese classical literature, and spend each day studying without fail.

The garden that is seen spread out in front of the Shoin is a Japanese rock garden with a Chinese twist of a central pond.

The building beyond this one is the Oku-shoin which served as a resting place for the king. Like the Shoin, there are golden nail covers which symbolize that this is a room for a king. Rooms for the servants all instead use black nail coverings.

On days when work would finish early, the king would call on one of his subordinates to amuse himself.

For example, he would call over Tokashiki Peku who was extraordinarily good at playing the game of go. There was a time where the king would play go with Peku on an almost daily basis.

One day while they were playing, one of the other subordinates was shocked to hear the conversation between the two:

“King, will you hurry up?”
“Won’t you just give me a moment please, Peku”
“No, No, hurry up and move the next stone.”
“How about this!?”
“Too bad, the king has lost.”
“Ahhh!”

Peku was addressing the king as if he were his friend! Once Peku left the room, he was cornered by this subordinate. He scolded him stating, “Peku, that is no way to speak to a King!”

The next day the king once again summoned Peku. After placing his first stone, he pulled back and place his forehead to the ground bowing to the king before saying:

“Honorable King, I await your move”
“Won’t you just give me a moment please, Peku”
“Yes, of course.”
“How about this!?”
“ I have lost. Your Majesty has won.”
“...Wait a minute, Peku, what happened?”

The king questioned Peku who had changed so drastically. As Peku began to say, “Actually, I was scolded―,” the king broke out in laughter. “Certainly there should be courtesy towards your superiors, but that is no fun when you are playing go!”

And thus, Peku had the king’s permission to address him as a friend when they were together.

This folktale is based on an actual person, but surprisingly, this type of dynamic can be seen nowadays as well.