Osaka Castle, Osaka (Japan)
The construction of Osaka
Castle (Osakajo) started in 1583 on the former site of the Ishiyama
Honganji Temple, which had been destroyed by Oda Nobunaga thirteen years
earlier. Toyotomi Hideyoshi intended the
castle to become the center of a new, unified Japan under Toyotomi rule.
It was the largest castle at the time.
However, a few years after Hideyoshi’s death, Tokugawa troops
attacked and destroyed the castle and terminated the Toyotomi lineage in
1615. Osaka Castle was rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada in the 1620s, but
its main castle tower was struck by lightening in 1665 and burnt down.
It was not until 1931 that the present
ferro-concrete reconstruction of the castle tower was built. During the
war it miraculously survived the city wide air raids. Major repair
works gave the castle new glamor in 1997. The castle tower is now
entirely modern on the inside and even features an elevator for easier
accessibility. It houses an informative museum about the castle’s history and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
The castle tower is surrounded by secondary citadels, gates, turrets, impressive stone walls and moats. The Nishinomaru Garden, encompassing the former “western citadel”, is a lawn garden with 600 cherry trees, a tea house, the former Osaka Guest House and nice views of the castle tower from below.
The entire Osaka Castle Park covers about two square kilometers with
lots of green space, sport facilities, a multi-purpose arena (Osakajo
Hall) and Hokoku Shrine, dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The park is
one of Osaka’s most popular hanami spot during the cherry blossom season, which usually takes place in early April.
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