Osaka Castle Nishinomaru Garden April 2005

is a

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 ...

in 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 The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nob ...

Layout

The inner keep of Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one square kilometre. It is built on two raised platforms of landfill supported by sheer walls of cut rock, using a technique called burdock piling, each overlooking a

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 ...

. The keep is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside and built atop a tall stone foundation to protect its occupants from attackers. The main keep is surrounded by a series of moats and defensive fortifications. The castle has two moats (an inner and an outer one). The inner castle moat lies within the castle grounds and consists of two types: wet (northern-easterly) and dry (south-westerly). The outer moat meanwhile surrounds the entire castle premise, denotes the castle's outer limits, and consists of four individual water-filled sections, each representing a cardinal direction (North, East, South, West). The castle grounds, which cover approximately 61,000 square metres (15 acres), contain the following thirteen structures that were denoted as "important cultural assets" by the Japanese government: *Ote-mon Gate *Sakura-mon Gate *Ichiban-yagura Turret *Inui-yagura Turret *Rokuban-yagura Turret *Sengan Turret *Tamon Turret *Kinmeisui Well *Kinzo Storehouse *Enshogura Gunpowder Magazine *Three sections of 'dobei' mud-and-plaster wall all located around the Otemon Gate; each has its own Important Cultural Property status There are also some megaliths at the castle include the

Octopus stone The octopus stone, ''Taiko-ishi'' 蛸石 (also called "Drum Rock") is a large stone at Osaka Castle in Japan. The stone is near Sakura Gate. It is one of the largest of several megaliths at the castle (by face area), at 5.5×11.7 meters and over ...

, but these have no cultural property status. The outer moat has two main sentry checkpoints: the Aoyamon Gate (in the north-east) and the Otemon Gate (in the opposing south-west). Between the inner and outer moat are the following: Fushimi-yagura Turret Remains, Ensho-gura Gunpowder Storehouse, Osaka Geihinkan, Hoshoan Tea House, Osaka Castle Nishinomaru Garden, Sengan-yagura Turret, Tamon-yagura Turret, Remains of Taiko-yagura Turret, Osaka Shudokan Martial Arts Hall, Hokoku Shrine (Osaka), Ichiban-yagura Turret (The first turret), and Plum Grove. There are two places to cross the inner moat, Gokuraku-bashi Bridge (located in the North) and Sakuramon Gate (main sentry point in the South). Within the inner moat, the castle was divided into two major areas: the Hommaru (Inner Bailey) and the Yamazato-Maru Bailey. Located within the Hommaru is the Main Tower, the Kimmeisui Well, the Japanese Garden, the Takoishi (Octopus Stone), the Gimmeisui Well, the Miraiza Osakajo Complex, the Kinzo Treasure House, and the "Timecapsule Expo'70". While within the Yamazato-Maru Bailey consists of the Marked-Stones Square, and the Monument commemorating 'Hideyori and Yodo-dono committing suicide'. As with almost all Japanese castles from the Azuchi-Momoyama period onward, the , the most prominent structure, was used as a storehouse in times of peace and as a

fortified tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of ...

in times of war, and the 's government offices and residences were located in a group of single-story buildings near the ''tenshu'' and the surrounding .

History

Death Place of Toyotomi Hideyori and Yodo-dono

In 1583

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: ...

commenced construction on the site of the

Ikkō-ikki were armed military leagues that formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries, composed entirely of members of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism. In the early phases, these ''ikki'' leagues opposed the rule of local Shugo, go ...

temple of

Ishiyama Hongan-ji The was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, leagues of warrior priests and commoners who opposed samurai rule during the Sengoku period. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. At the ...

. The basic plan was modeled after

Azuchi Castle was one of the primary Castles in Japan, castles of Oda Nobunaga located in the Azuchi, Shiga, Azuchi neighborhood of the city of Ōmihachiman, Shiga Prefecture. The site of the castle was designated a Monuments of Japan, National Historic Site i ...

, the headquarters of

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 ...

. Hideyoshi wanted to build a castle that mirrored Nobunaga's but surpassed it in every way: the plan featured a five-story main tower, with three extra stories underground, and

gold leaf upA gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). The Japan.html" ;"title="Toi gold mine museum, Japan">Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has ...

on the sides of the tower to impress visitors. In 1585 the Inner donjon was completed. Hideyoshi continued to extend and expand the castle, making it more and more formidable to attackers. In 1597 construction was completed and Hideyoshi died the year after. Osaka Castle passed to his son,

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

. In 1614

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 ...

besieged the Toyotomi clan forces in Osaka castle during the winter, starting the

Siege of Osaka A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

. Although the Toyotomi forces were outnumbered approximately two to one, they managed to fight off Tokugawa's 200,000-man army and protect the castle's outer walls. Ieyasu had the castle's outer moat filled, negating one of the castle's main outer defenses. During the summer of 1615, Hideyori began to restore the outer moat. Ieyasu, in outrage, sent his armies to Osaka Castle again, and routed the Toyotomi men inside the outer walls on June 4. Later, Osaka Castle fell to 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 ...

and the

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...

perished, as

and

Yodo-dono or (1569 – June 4, 1615), also known as Lady Chacha (茶々), was a Japanese historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She was the concubine and the second wife of Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As the mother of his son and successor ...

committed seppuku and the castle buildings burned to the ground. As the Toyotomi clan no longer existed, the Tokugawa shogunate expressed their desire to move their center of government into Osaka. However, this plan to relocate the shogunate government into Osaka was halted after the death of Ieyasu in 1616. For a while, the shogunate's plan to move to Osaka was abandoned, but was reinstated by

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was born to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Lady Saigō on May ...

, who had a strong desire to establish a unified imperial and military government. In 1619,

Matsudaira Tadaaki was a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period through early Edo period. He was a retainer and relative of the Tokugawa clan.Hauser, William B. (1974)''Economic Institutional Change in Tokugawa Japan: Ōsaka and the Kinai cotton trade,'' ...

, who was appointed as the lord of Osaka Castle before, was transferred to the

Kōriyama Domain The Kōriyama Domain (郡山藩) thrived within Yamato Province, with its central hub nestled within Kōriyama Castle, Koriyama Castle, situated in Yamatokoriyama City, Nara Prefecture. file: Yanagisawa Yasunobu.jpg , 270px, Yanagisawa Yasunob ...

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

, and the shogunate assumed direct control of Osaka. Then, the project of reconstructing Osaka castle as a new base of the shogunate was entrusted to

Tōdō Takatora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to Edo periods. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''daimyō''. During his lifetime he changed his feudal master ...

and Kobori Enshu. In 1620, the old structures of Osaka Castle were completely dismantled so that the foundation for the new castle could be built. He assigned the task of constructing new walls to individual samurai clans. The walls built in the 1620s still stand today and are made out of interlocked granite boulders without mortar. Many of the stones were brought from rock quarries near the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...

and bear inscribed crests of the various families who contributed them. The shogunate also built a new elevated main tower, five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside. Construction of the ''

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 ...

'' started in 1628 and was completed two years later, about the same time as the rest of the reconstruction, and followed the general layout of the original Toyotomi structure. However, it was built in a different part of the Honmaru (main bailey), as the base of the Toyotomi keep had actually been buried by the new Tokugawa version of the castle. After a long period of construction, the new Osaka Castle was completed in 1628. In 1660, lightning ignited the gunpowder warehouse and the resulting explosion set the castle on fire. In 1665, lightning struck and burnt down the ''tenshu''. Kajisuke Nakama was one of the

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...

guards that protected Osaka Castle. On 15 May 1740, when he was 25-year-old, he stole 4,000

ryō The was a gold currency unit in the shakkanhō system in pre- Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the '' yen''. Origins The ''ryō'' was originally a unit of weight from China, the ''tael.'' It came into use in Ja ...

of gold inside. However, the crime was soon discovered by the shogunate, so he was arrested and confessed. Although he was a samurai, he was dragged around the city and sentenced to crucifixion in September. Later, this incident became a legend and the contents changed, so it is said that he was a thief who wanted the gold that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had dropped in the Kinmeisui Well. In 1843, after decades of neglect, the castle got much-needed repairs when the bakufu collected money from the people of the region to rebuild several of the turrets. In 1868, Osaka Castle fell and was surrendered to anti-bakufu imperial loyalists. A number of the castle buildings were burned in the civil conflicts surrounding the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. The Honmaru Palace was lost during 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 ...

. In its place the ''

Kishū , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

Palace'' (紀州御殿 ''Kishū Goten'') was moved here from

Wakayama Castle 260px, Layout of the ''tenshu'' is a Japanese castle located in the city Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. For most of the Edo Period, it was the administrative center of Kishū Domain, which was controlled by a cadet branch of the Tokugaw ...

to serve as an imperial state guest house, named later ''

Tenrinkaku The Tenrinkaku (天臨閣) was a ''shoin'' structure at Osaka Castle. It was initially known as the ''Kishū Palace'' (紀州御殿 ''Kishū Goten''). History The Ninomaru Palace of Wakayama Castle was constructed in Genwa 7 (1621) shortly aft ...

''. Under the Meiji government, Osaka Castle became part of the Osaka Army Arsenal (''Osaka Hohei Kosho'') manufacturing guns, ammunition, and explosives for Japan's rapidly expanding Western-style military. In 1931, the

ferroconcrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having ...

'' was built. Aerial view of Osaka castle grounds on 1 June 1945

During World War II, the arsenal became one of the largest military armories, employing 60,000 workers. American bombing raids targeting the arsenal damaged the reconstructed main keep and, on August 14, 1945, destroyed 90% of the arsenal and killed 382 people working there. In 1995, Osaka's government approved yet another restoration project, with the intent of restoring the main keep to its Edo-era splendor. In 1997, restoration was completed. The keep is a concrete reproduction (including elevators) of the original and the interior is intended as a modern, functioning museum. Located in the Nishinomaru was the former residence of the '' jōdai'', who were officials. The residence was the second largest after the Honmaru Palace. North of it were a number of warehouses. The site is now a park. Next to it is the

Osaka State Guest House The Osaka State Guest House (大阪迎賓館 ''Ōsaka geihinkan'') is located in the Nishinomaru area of Osaka Castle. The building is owned by City of Osaka, managed by Osaka Castle Management Consortium, and operated by Value Management. It was ...

and the Hōshō-an ''

chashitsu ''Chashitsu'' (, "tea room") in Japanese tradition is an architectural space designed to be used for Japanese tea ceremony, tea ceremony (''chanoyu'') gatherings. The architectural style that developed for ''chashitsu'' is referred to as the '' ...

''.

Views of the castle

File:Osaka Castle Keep Tower in 201504 016.JPG, Osaka Castle at night File:Osaka Castle Keep Tower in 201504 001.JPG, Osaka Castle pedestrian entrance File:OsakaCastle 2007-3.jpg, Main keep File:OsakaCastleOtemonGate.jpg, Otemon (western) Gate File:Caron1663.jpg, Early representation of the destruction of the 1663 François Caron book File:Mythical Fish (2850634866).jpg, From the roof of Osaka Castle main tower File:大阪城天守閣と梅林 Plum Grove and Osaka Castle.jpg, Prunus mume grove in Osaka Castle Park File:Osaka Castle Outer Moat and Osaka Business Park, November 2016.jpg, Outer moat and Osaka Business Park File:Osaka-Castle-cherry-blossom-2018-Luka-Peternel.jpg, Cherry blossom at Osaka Castle File:Osaka-Castle-twilight-2016-Luka-Peternel.jpg, Osaka Castle during twilight File:Osaka castle tenshu.jpg, Tenshu of Osaka Castle File:Château d'Osaka 1583 1615.jpg, Osaka Castle from 1583 until 1615 File:Château d'Osaka 1620 1868.jpg, Osaka Castle from 1620 until 1868 File:DCMI (1120).jpg, Outer-View of Aoyamon Gate File:DCMI (1119).jpg, Inner moat ramparts viewed from inner Aoyamon Gate File:DCMI (1114).jpg, Main keep from Gokuraku Bashi (bridge) File:DCMI (1113).jpg, Main keep from Marked Stone Square File:DCMI (1112).jpg, Main keep from Uzumimon Gate File:DCMI (1110).jpg, View of moat from atop Uzumimon Gate File:DCMI (1107).jpg, Main keep from Miraiza Building File:DCMI (1106).jpg, Inner-view of Sakuramon Gate File:DCMI (1105).jpg, Easterly view of dry inner moat outside Sakuramon Gate File:DCMI (1115).jpg, Gozabune boat ferrying tourists around on the inner moat.

Access

The castle is open to the public and is easily accessible from Osakajōkōen 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, ...

Osaka Loop Line The is a railway Circle route, loop line in Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It encircles central Osaka. Part of a second, outer loop line, the Osaka Higashi Line, from Hanaten Station, Hanaten to Kyuhoji Station, Kyuh ...

. It is a popular spot during festival seasons, and especially during the

cherry blossom The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

bloom (

hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers; in this case almost always mean those of the or, less frequently, trees. From the end of March to early May, cherry trees bloom all over Japan, and around the s ...

), when the sprawling castle grounds are covered with food vendors and

taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...

drummers. The large indoor arena,

Osaka-jō Hall is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi, Osaka, Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of , part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of Osaka Castle ...

, also is located within the grounds of the castle park.

In popular culture

* In the 1955

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

film ''

Godzilla Raids Again is a 1955 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and a sequel to ''Godzilla'' (1954). The fi ...

'', Godzilla's battle with Anguirus leads onto the castle grounds. The structure itself collapses when

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

pins

Anguirus is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in ''Godzilla Raids Again'' (1955), the second film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. Anguirus is the first monster to be shown engaging in combat with Godzilla in a film. Since then, the c ...

against it. * In the 1966 tokusatsu film, ''

Gamera vs. Barugon is a 1966 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Shigeo Tanaka, with special effects by Noriaki Yuasa and Kazufumi Fujii. Produced by Daiei Film, it is the second entry in the ''Gamera'' franchise, and stars Kōjirō Hongō, Kyōko Enami, and Y� ...

'', the titular monsters' first encounter is at the site of the castle. * The castle appears in The two-parter of the 1966 tokusatsu television series, ''

Ultraman The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...

'' where the titular hero does battle with the monster Gomora on the castle grounds. * In 1975, British novelist

James Clavell James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921 – 7 September 1994) was a British and American writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best known for his ''Asian Saga'' nov ...

used the castle and its environs () as a major plot location for his most famous work of historical fiction, ''

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

''. ** In the 1980 adaptation,

Himeji Castle () is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in Himeji, a city in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with adva ...

's environs stand in for Osaka Castle. ** For the 2024 adaptation, the castle is portrayed via CGI reconstruction with its period-accurate black lacquering, both in-story and as part of the

title sequence A title screen (also called an opening screen or intro) is the method by which films or television show, television programmes present their title and key filmmaking, production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often an op ...

. The interior chambers and halls were constructed physical sets. * The castle was featured in the finale of ''

The Amazing Race 20 ''The Amazing Race 20'' is the twentieth season of the American reality competition show ''The Amazing Race (American TV series), The Amazing Race''. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, ...

'', where it hosted a Pit Stop. * In the 2002 film '' Suicide Club'', it is reported that 200 high school girls jumped off the Osaka Castle. * The castle is featured in the 2025 video game Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Appendix

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

*
Benesch, Oleg. "Castles and the Militarisation of Urban Society in Imperial Japan," ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Vol. 28 (Dec. 2018), pp. 107–134.
* * * De Lange, William. (2022). ''The Siege of Osaka Castle: The Winter and Summer Campaigns''. Groningen: Toyo Press. * * * *

External links

* * {{Coord, 34, 41, 14, N, 135, 31, 33, E, region:JP_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Osaka Tourist attractions in Osaka Chūō-ku, Osaka Castles in Osaka Prefecture History museums in Japan Museums in Osaka Buildings and structures in Japan destroyed during World War II Rebuilt buildings and structures in Japan Special Historic Sites