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Who built it, and when?
Everyone knows about castles and palaces and other such important places, but have you ever visited one? When we discovered that the city of Osaka has its very own, very old castle, built over 400 years ago by a powerful shogun, called Toyotomi Hideoyoshi, we decided we absolutely had to go and see it ourselves.
Martha and I in front of Osaka Castle. Just look at all that gold!
Osaka Castle surrounded by high stone walls & a moat
How was it made?
Toyotomi built his Castle up high on a man-made hill. He built sheer rock walls around the hill and made a water-filled moat at the bottom, so no enemies could get up the walls and kill him or conquer the castle. The castle was decorated with gold and a whole kilometer of grounds surrounded it, so that anyone looking at Osaka Castle from far away would be intimidated and impressed.
Some sculptured birds welcome us to the Osaka Castle property.
Interlocking boulders in the moat wall
A close-up view of the interlocking boulders
A kilometer is pretty far so it took us a long time to walk through the park to the castle gates. The closer we got, the more impressed we were – especially by those amazing stone walls!
Stone wall near the Castle gate.
Amazing stone walls
The stone walls were built by different Samurai warrior clans who brought the rocks from far away. They constructed the walls by interlocking huge granite boulders. Even though no cement was used to hold the rocks together, the walls still stand exactly like they were over 400 years ago. The stamps of the Samurai clans that built the walls are still inscribed on the boulders. WOW. Those stone walls were amazing!
Adolf and I at the Castle gate. Notice the huge "single" stone behind.
George reading the inscription beside the largest "single" stone of all.
Destruction, defeat and rebuilding
But, even huge walls can’t keep determined enemies out! Only 30 years later (about 390 years ago), the army of another shogun, Tokugawa Hidetode, attacked and destroyed Toyotomi’s castle. It was damaged so badly it had to be built all over again.
That war was the last civil war in Japan. The shoguns began to realize it was more important to maintain peace by political, economic and psychological means than by wars. After that the “big stones” were important only for impressing rival feudal lords, samurais and the people they ruled. "The bigger the stones, the greater the power, prestige and authority of the Shogun who lived there."
Osaka Castle was once again partly destroyed by bombs in World War II, but recent renovations have restored its beauty and made it accessible. Now, visitors from all over the world, even those with disabilities, can get inside and go up the modern elevator to see the museum and the view from the top.
The gardens beside the castle
An interesting tree in front of Osaka Castle
What we saw
It was a long walk through the park and up the hill to the castle. But, we didn’t mind because everything along the way was new and interesting, like the bonsai pruned trees and the beautiful gardens beside the castle.
George tempting me with an octopus snack!
One of the huge castle doors, with lots of gold decoration.
Can you find the screened-in observation deck at the top?
We bought some lunch then went inside the castle and up to the 8th floor observation deck where we could walk around the tower and see the whole of Osaka – even the giant Tempozan ferris wheel far away in Osaka bay.
Now we’re on our way to check out downtown Osaka.
George, Hiro and I leaving through the Castle gates
