, also known as , is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located in Ōzu,

Ehime Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,334,841 and a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The earliest recorded defensive structures date back to the beginning of the 14th century and were supposedly built by Utsunomiya Toyofusa. In 1888, deterioration of the castle led to its demolition; it was later rebuilt in 2004 according to traditional construction methods.

History

Local records state that, by 1331, barricades and small fortresses punctuated the ''Jizōgatake'', the strategic mound which overlooks the river . The more elaborate defensive compound as it stands today, was erected sometime between 1585–1617.

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: ...

and

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 ...

's campaigns to unify Japan brought with them a continuous state of change to the rulers of . These included the ''

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 ...

'' (feudal lord)

Wakisaka Yasuharu (1554 – September 26, 1626), sometimes referred to as Wakizaka Yasuharu, was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of Awaji Island who fought under a number of warlords over the course of Japan's Sengoku period. Biography Wakisaka originally serv ...

Kobayakawa Takakage was a samurai and daimyō (feudal military lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of ...

, Toda Katsutaka, and

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 ...

. Takatora was a castle designer of some renown and is believed to have been the major contributor to the overall outline of the current structure. In 1617, Katō Sadayasu from Yonago province, took possession of Ōzu. The Katō clan retained control of the domain over the span of 13 generations, until the beginning of 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 ...

which began in 1868. During the Meiji era (1868–1912), abandoned and left at the mercy of the elements, the castle deteriorated rapidly. After 20 years of neglect, in 1888, the main keep was on the verge of collapse and was thus demolished. Nonetheless, its two surrounding , ''Koran'' and ''Daidokoro'', were left intact. These turrets, built in the late

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

(1603–1868), as well as the turrets named ''Owata'' and ''Minami Sumi'' were marked as Important Cultural Property in 1957 by the

Agency for Cultural Affairs The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The age ...

of the Japanese Government.

Recent developments

In 2004, efforts by local citizens and city officials culminated in the construction of a new keep at a cost of 1.6 billion

JPY The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Th ...

(roughly equivalent to

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

10,7 million in 2004). Old photographs, maps and the discovery of an old model depicting the castle's original structure allowed for a historically faithful reconstruction while traditional assembling techniques and natural materials were employed. The focus on historical accuracy supposedly eased the construction efforts while the project also gave new life to otherwise dying forms of specialized craftmanship such as carpenters and blacksmiths. At a height of , it stands as the highest timber structure to have been erected since the enactment of the first post-war in 1950. The castle is open to visitors and in an attempt to revive the local economy through tourism, overnight stays are also possible.

Images

File:Ozu Castle & Hiji River.jpg, Ōzu Castle & Hiji River at dusk File:Ozu Castle clouds.jpg, Ōzu Castle and Hiji River File:Sakura Ozu.jpg, Cherry blossom at Ōzu Castle

References

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External links

Ōzu Castle

Ōzu Castle. Castle Stay

Guide to Japanese Castles: Ōzu Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozu Castle Castles in Ehime Prefecture Museums in Ehime Prefecture History museums in Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan Designated historic sites of Ehime Prefecture

History

Recent developments

Images

See also

Further reading

References

External links