Osaka Castle (大坂城)

Osaka Castle (大坂城,Osakajo) built in 1583 on the former site of the Ishiyama Honganji Temple by Toyoyomi Hideyoshi.Toyotomi Hideyoshi,the battle expert design the castle to be the most formidable castle ever built in Japan and intended the castle to become the center of a new, unified Japan under Toyotomi rule.



However, a few years after Hideyoshi's death in 1615, Tokugawa troops attacked and destroyed the castle and terminated the Toyotomi lineage. Osaka Castle was completely rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada in the 1620.



A new donjon was built too and making the whole castle even bigger and grander than Hideyoshi's original castle but its main castle tower was struck by lightening in 1665 and burnt down. It was never rebuilt until 1931,where the present ferro-concrete reconstruction of the castle was built.



Major repair works gave the castle new glamour in 1997. Inside the castle is a museum that documents Toyotomi Hideyoshi's life and the history of the castle. The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and built atop a tall stone foundation to protect its occupants from sword-bearing attackers.



Osaka's best known sight, although it's a concrete reconstruction that pales in comparison with, say, Himeji Castle. Still, it's pretty enough from the outside, especially in the cherry blossom season. Open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, adult admission ¥600 (Children up to middle school free).



Closed at the end and beginning of the year. The park can be accessed on a number of lines, but the castle is closest to Osaka-jo Koen station on the JR Osaka Loop Line.


tags : Osaka Castle 大坂城 Japan Osakajo