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TAK'S
GUIDE TO JAPANESE CASTLES |
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OSAKA-JO |
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Donjon reconstructed after World War II |
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AKA |
KIN-JO |
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LOCATION |
OSAKA-City, |
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CONSTRUCTOR |
Toyotomi Hideyoshi |
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YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION |
1583 |
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REMAINS |
Central keep, secondary keep, stone works, moats, towers, gates |
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MY FIRST VISIT |
1996 |
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NOTES |
Osaka-jo
was first built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
ruler of The Edo Shogunate, who wanted to rid
the world of anything that remotely reminded the existence of the Toyotomi family, decided to rebuild Osaka-jo from the ground up. As a
result, remains of the Toyotomi
Osaka-jo (stone works) were buried deep in the ground, and the Shogunate Osaka-jo was built on top of it. The donjon of the Shogunate Osaka-jo was second in size to that of
Edo-jo,
the seat of the Shogunate. Like the donjon of Edo-jo, Osaka-jo's
donjon was lost in fire shortly after its completion. Although the castle saw no battle for
two hundred years, it became the center of battle near the end of the
Shogunate era. Today, centerpiece of the castle is
not the corner towers remaining, but stone works constructed from gigantic
stones. Click here for Japanese notes. |
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Gate and tower |
Corner tower and stone works |
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HIMEJI-JO |
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Himeji Castle, 'National Treasure' and
'UNESCO World Cultural Heritage' |
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AKA |
HAKURO-JO |
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LOCATION |
HIMEJI City, HYOGO |
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CONSTRUCTOR |
Ikeda Terumasa |
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YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION |
1601 |
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REMAINS |
Bizen keep (centrail keep), Nishi keep (west keep), tertiary
keep, moats, donjon ('National Treasure'), towers |
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MY FIRST VISIT |
1994 |
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NOTES |
The current Himeji-jo was built by Ikeda
Terumasa in 1601, by order of Tokugawa
Ieyasu, who later became the first Shogun of the Edo Shogunate. Himeji-jo
was built at the time of final struggle for the establishment of the Edo Shogunate.
Therefore, it was built to repel any enemy assault. But it saw no battle in
its four hundred year history. Although the entire castle complex was
preserved when it became a government property after the Meiji Restoration
(end of Shogun's rule) in 1867, the Meiji Government tore down many
structures until they eventually realized its cultural significance. Even though the structures remaining
today are only fraction of what was remaining at the time of the Meiji
Restoration, Himeji-jo is the best
preserved example of Japanese military architecture in the Shogun era, and
the most famous castle in Japan. The donjon of Himeji-jo is designated 'National Treasure', and the entire
castle complex is designated 'World Cultural Heritage' by UNESCO. Click here for Japanese notes. |
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Corner tower |
Inner moat and the donjon |
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Donjon |
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MATSUE-JO |
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Donjon |
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AKA |
Chidori-jo |
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LOCATION |
MATSUE City, SHIMANE |
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CONSTRUCTOR |
Horie Yoshiharu |
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YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION |
1995 |
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REMAINS |
Central keep, secondary keep, stone works, moat, donjon |
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MY FIRST VISIT |
1996 |
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NOTES |
Matsue-jo
was built by Horie Yoshiharu in
1611. It took five years to complete. Retainer of the castle changed hands
frequently until it was handed down to the Yuki family. All structures were torn down after the
Meiji Restoration (end of Shogun's rule) in 1867, with the exception of the
donjon. The overall height of the donjon is 30
meters, which is third among existing donjons, next to that of Himeji-jo and Matsumoto-jo. In terms of floor area, Matsue-jo's donjon is second largest,
after that of Himeji-jo's. Click here for Japanese notes. |
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Donjon |
Corner towers
and walls newly reconstructed |
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BICCHU-MATSUYAMA-JO |
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Donjon |
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AKA |
TAKAHARI-JO |
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LOCATION |
BICCHU-TAKAHARI City, OKAYAMA |
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CONSTRUCTOR |
Mizutani Katsumune |
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YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION |
1583 |
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REMAINS |
Central keep, secondary keep, tertiary keep, stone works, donjon,
towers, castle walls |
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MY FIRST VISIT |
1996 |
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NOTES |
Bicchu-Matsuyama-jo
was for a long time under the control of the Mori family, a powerful regional warlord. After the Sekigahara War in 1600, the Mori family was forced to give up the
castle and surrounding territories. From then on, retainer changed hands
frequently until the Meiji Restoration (end of Shugun's rule) in 1867. The official name of the castle is
simply 'Matsuyama-jo', but there
are many castles in Japan similarly named 'Matsuyama'. For academic purposes, former province name (in this
case 'Bicchu') is added as a prefix
for differentiation. Click here for Japanese notes. |
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Tower and
donjon |
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MARUGAME-JO |
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Donjon |
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AKA |
KAMEYAMA-JO |
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LOCATION |
MARUGAME-City, KAGAWA |
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CONSTRUCTOR |
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YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION |
1597 |
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REMAINS |
Central keep, secondary keep, tertiary keep, donjon, gate |
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MY FIRST VISIT |
1995 |
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NOTES |
Construction of Magugame-jo began in 1597, and was completed in 1602. But in
1615, it was demolished because of the 'Ikkoku
Ichijo Rei (one castle per province law)'. Magugame-jo
was rebuilt by Yamazaki Ieharu in
1641. Major feature of this castle is that
the entire Kameyama hill, nearly 60 meters high, is covered with stone works. Click here for Japanese notes. |
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Donjon and
gate |
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IYO-MATSUYAMA-JO |
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Donjon and towers |
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AKA |
KATSUYAMA-JO, KINKI-JO |
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LOCATION |
MATSUYAMA City, EHIME |
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CONSTRUCTOR |
Kato Yoshiaki |
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YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION |
1602 |
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REMAINS |
Central keep, secondary keep, stone works, donjon, corner towers,
gates |
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MY FIRST VISIT |
1994 |
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NOTES |
Iyo-Matsuyama-jo
(Matsuyama is a common name for a castle, so for academic purposes,
differentiation is made by adding former province name as prefix), was
constructed in 1602 by Kato Yoshiaki.
Yoshiaki desperately wanted to
build a castle in Katsuyama hill. Knowing that the Shogunate will never
permit construction in Katsuyama if requested first, Yoshiaki listed
Katsuyama hill as an alternate location for a new castle. The Shogunate, as
Yoshiaki expected, rejected the first site proposed and permitted
construction in the alternate location. Donjon, when it was first completed,
was five stories tall, but it was later renovated to three stories. The
official reason was that the ground was too weak to support a five storey
structure, but in truth, it was scaled down to escape the constant watch of
the Shogunate, suspicious of any warlords with grand castles (i.e. with
enough financial and military powers to overthrow the Shogunate). Matsuyama-jo
faired well against the Meiji Restoration (end of the Shogunate) and the
Second World War, but many structures were destroyed in 1949 by an arsonist. Click here for Japanese notes. |
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Donjon |
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UWAJIMA-JO |
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Donjon |
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AKA |
TSURUJIMA-JO, MARUGUSHI-JO, ITAJIMA-JO |
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LOCATION |
UWAJIMA City, EHIME |
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CONSTRUCTOR |
Todo Takatora |
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YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION |
1596 |
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REMAINS |
Central keep, secondary keep, stone works, donjon |
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MY FIRST VISIT |
1995 |
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NOTES |
Uwajima-jo
was constructed by Todo Takatora,
and was later renovated by Date
Munetoshi who became the lord of the province. Current donjon was built
during this time. Only structure remaining is the
donjon. Ehime prefecture is noted for castles
with donjons remaining. There are two (the other is
Iyo-Matsuyama-jo). This is rare, because most prefectures have not a single castle with
donjon remaining (there were many castles with no donjons built in the first
place; this was done to escape the watch of the Shogunate, suspicious of any
warlords with grand castles). Click here for Japanese notes. |
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Donjon |
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KOCHI-JO |
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Donjon |
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AKA |
TAKA-JO, OTAKASAKA-JO |
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LOCATION |
KOCHI City, KOCHI |
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CONSTRUCTOR |
Yamauchi Kazutoyo |
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YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION |
1603 |
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REMAINS |
Central keep, secondary keep, tertiary keep, stone works, donjon,
palace, gates, towers |
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MY FIRST VISIT |
1995 |
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NOTES |
Kochi-jo
was built in 1603 by Yamauchi Kazutoyo,
on Otakasakayama hill. Majority of the castle was destroyed
by fire in 1727. The castle was rebuilt completely in 1753. Structures currently
remaining in the central keep are from this reconstruction. In 1873, all structures within the
castle was demolished, with the exception of the Otemon (main gate) and the
structures of the central keep. Kochi-jo
is presently noted for the fact that is it the only castle in Japan with all
structures in the central keep remaining. Click here for Japanese notes. |
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Otemon (main gate), and the donjon in
the background |
Donjon and
the Kaitokukan (central keep palace) |
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