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Azuchi Castle Ruins: Oda Nobunaga’s Vanished Fortress on Lake Biwa
Quick answer: Azuchi Castle (安土城) was the spectacular hilltop headquarters of the warlord Oda Nobunaga, built…
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Hikone Castle: One of Japan’s Last Original Samurai Fortresses
Quick answer: Hikone Castle (彦根城) is one of only twelve Japanese castles that still has its…
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Inuyama Castle: Japan’s Oldest Surviving Original Tower
Quick answer: Perched on a cliff above the Kiso River, Inuyama Castle’s keep dates to the…
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Nagoya Castle: The Tokugawa Gosanke Stronghold and Its Golden Shachihoko
Quick answer: Nagoya Castle was built in 1610 on the order of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu as…
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Matsumoto Castle History: From a Sengoku Outpost to Japan’s “Crow Castle”
Quick answer: Matsumoto Castle’s black, five-story main keep was built around 1593–1594 by Ishikawa Kazumasa and…
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Kenrokuen and Kanazawa Castle: One of Japan’s Three Great Gardens and the Maeda Clan’s Stronghold
Quick answer: Kenrokuen and Kanazawa Castle sit directly across from each other in the heart of…
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Shibata Castle: The Edo-Period Castle Town Guarded by Three Dolphins
Quick answer: Shibata Castle, in Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture, was built starting in 1598 by the…
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The Imperial Palace and Edo Castle Ruins: Tokyo’s Layered Center of Power
Quick answer: Tokyo’s Imperial Palace sits on the site of Edo Castle, the former seat of…
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Oshi Castle: The “Floating Castle” That Survived Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Flood Attack
Quick answer: Oshi Castle in Gyoda, Saitama, is remembered as “the castle that never fell” —…
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Aizuwakamatsu Castle (Tsurugajo) and the Byakkotai: Fukushima’s Boshin War History
Quick answer: Aizuwakamatsu Castle, better known as Tsurugajo, began as a modest 1384 fortification and was…
A Japan Journey of the Tourists, by the Tourists, for the Tourists —
Castles
Japan’s castles rise from stone ramparts and moated grounds, standing as monuments to the warlords, sieges, and dynasties that shaped the nation’s history.
