is an Edo-period

Japanese castle are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such a ...

located in the city of Hikone,

Shiga Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

, Japan. It is considered the most significant historical site in Shiga. The site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 1951. Hikone is one of only twelve castles in Japan with its original ''

tenshu is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle, Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''. ''Tenshu'' are cha ...

'', and one of only five castles with buildings listed as National Treasures.

Overview

Hikone Castle is located one kilometer from

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13 ...

due to

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

, but originally the castle was directly on the lakeshore, and the north and east sides were surrounded by water. The Hikone area is in eastern

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

, and the site was a natural bottleneck on the route of the

Tōsandō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. It is part of the ''Gokishichidō'' system. It was situated along the central mountains of northern Honshu, specifically th ...

(later the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

) highway connecting

Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, mo ...

with the eastern provinces. Strategically, it was a vital point in protecting the capital from attack from the east. In the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, this area was controlled by the Azai clan, who were based in northern Ōmi, and who built a castle called Sawayama Castle approximately two kilometers from this site. The Azai were defeated by

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

, who assigned Sawayama Castle to his general Niwa Nagahide. Under

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

, this closest advisor,

Ishida Mitsunari was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the Azuchi–Momoyama period of the 16th century. He ...

was entrusted with the castle. After Ishida Mitsunari was defeated at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

in 1601,

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

appointed his general

Ii Naomasa was a general under the Sengoku period ''daimyō'', and later ''shōgun'', Tokugawa Ieyasu.daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of a new domain centered at Sawayama Castle. Ii Naomasa was one of the most capable and trusted of Ieyasu's generals, noted not only for his military prowess, but also for his diplomacy and strategies. At first, he used Sawayama Castle, but was not happy with its situation. The castle was considered obsolete and had weak defenses as it was divided between hilltop and hillside areas. Furthermore, it was formerly the stronghold of the enemy leader and had strong associations with the former regime. Therefore, Ii Naomasa decide to relocate his seat to a new location on the shores of Lake Biwa, constructing a new castle per the latest contemporary design. The site was previously occupied by a Buddhist temple called Hogon-ji which had been built in 1080 and which was a popular pilgrimage site for the worship of

Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

. Hikone Castle consists of two concentric water moats surrounding a 100 meter hill called "Mount Konki". The hill itself is divided roughly into three sections, with the "Kane-no-maru" enclosure in the southeast, the "Nishi-no-maru" enclosure in the northwest and the "Honmaru", or inner bailey in the middle. Dry moats protect these inner enclosures and are crossed by bridges. The faces of the moats were protected by stones. Originally front gate was "Otemon" gate facing westward, but later the "Sawaguchi" gate facing southeast which connected to Nakasendō became the main gate. To save time and expense, the Ii clan scavenged many stones and buildings by demolishing all other fortifications in their territory and bringing the materials to Hikone. The three-story ''tenshu'' located at the center of the castle was brought from Ōtsu Castle. Originally built in 1575, the exterior has an older style of decoration on each roof, and the overall structure appears short and stout, as it was modified from what was originally a five-story tower. The "Tenbin yagura" was brought from Nagahama Castle. It is a gate with two two-story ''yagura'' watchtowers on either side, which protect the dry moats in front of the gate. The "Nishinomaru Sanju Yagura" was brought from Odani Castle.

History

However, due to injuries which he had suffered in battle, he died in 1602 when construction had just begun. The castle was finally completed under his son Ii Naokatsu in 1622 after 20 years of construction. The castle was used as the administrative center of Hikone Domain. Often considered the foremost of the ''

fudai daimyō was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa admin ...

'', the Ii clan served in many important positions within the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. During the Bakumatsu period, the '' tairō'' Ii Naosuke was virtual ruler of the country during a time of very weak and ineffectual shoguns. However, his acquiescence in ending Japan's national isolation policy under pressure from the western powers led to his assassination by pro-''

Sonnō Jōi was a '' yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s, during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sou ...

'' forces in 1860. The final ''daimyō'' of Hikone,

Ii Naonori was the 16th (and final) ''daimyō'' of Hikone Domain in Bakumatsu period Japan and was the 35th hereditary chieftain of the Ii clan. Before the Meiji Restoration, his courtesy title was ''Kamon-no-kami'', and his List of Japanese court ranks ...

grew increasingly dissatisfied with the hostile treatment still accorded Hikone Domain by the shogunal administration, which was dominated by the Hitotsubashi faction which had been hostile to Ii Naosuke. He also came to the realization that shogunate's military system and equipment was now obsolete compared with the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the southwestern feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satc ...

. Although Hikone Domain had been one of the strongest supporters of the Tokugawa shogunate, he was among the first to support the imperial cause in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. During the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, although Hikone forces were stationed at

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Layout Th ...

, they did not join the shogunal army, but simply marched home. The domain later took part in combat against the pro-shogunate Ōgaki Domain, and in other locations. The new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

confirmed him as imperial governor of Hikone. When the new government ordered the dismantling of all feudal-era fortification nationwide, Hikone Castle was spared by a direct request from the emperor himself, who was touring the area. This preserved Hikone Castle intact. Today it remains one of the oldest largely original-construction castles in Japan. In 1934, the grounds of the castle were planted with over 1,000 Yoshino cherry trees. The castle and its grounds were donated by the Ii clan to the city of Hikone in 1944. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the city of Hikone was scheduled for destruction by an air raid on the night of August 15, 1945, but the end of the war occurred at noon that same day and the bombing was not conducted. The main keep of Hikone Castle, along with its attached Tsuke Turret and Tamon Turret, were designated as a National Treasure by the

Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture The was a former Japanese government ministry. Its headquarters were in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The Ministry of Education was created in 1871. It merged with the into the new Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (M ...

in 1952. Several other structures have been accorded Important Cultural Property status. Like the main keep complex, most of these structures are actually complexes of two or more connected buildings: * * * * * Major repairs were undertaken to the ''tenshu'' from 1957 to 1960, and on the various ''yagura'' from 1960 to 1968. In 1987, the ''daimyō'' palace was restored as the "Hikone Castle Museum". Further repairs to the castle were undertaken from 1993 to 1996. On April 6, 2006, Hikone Castle was selected as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.Japan Castle Foundation
/ref> The castle is about a 15-minute walk from Hikone Station on the

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

Biwako Line.

Gallery

Castle_foundation.jpg, Foundation of the main keep Hikone_castle03s3200.jpg, Tenbin Yagura and Rokabashi Bridge HikoneCastle18.jpg, Sawaguchi Tamon Yagura Hikone Castle oldphoto omotemon.JPG, Omotemon-gate and Palace in 1876 Genkyuen03s3000.jpg, View from Genkyuen Hikone Castle November 2016 -01.jpg, In autumn Hikone-Castle-canal-cherry-blossom-2018-Luka-Peternel.jpg, Hikone Castle

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

in spring 2018 彦根城天守.jpg, Main keep in February 1981

Literature

* * * * *

External links

Hikone City

Hikone Castle Museum

Hikone Castle Trip Report in English

References