Osaka Castle

Osaka castle is Osaka's most recognised landmark, originally built in 1583 by Hideyoshi Toyotomi as a symbol of his authority and power. After he achieved his goal of unifying Japan, 100,000 workers took three years to construct this castle.

However in 1603, Ieyasu Tokugawa increased in power after the Hideyoshi's death and established the shogunate in Tokyo. There remained a tense relationship between the two families and eventually in the Summer of 1615, the Tokugawa forces consisting of 200,000 soldiers seiged the castle. The castle was destoyed but rebuilt by the Tokugawa forces within 10 years.

The story of Osaka castle doesn't finish here though as it was destroyed once again only 39 years after its reconstruction, not by war but suprisingly by lightning and was left as it was until reconstruction in 1931. Unfortunately the castle is a concrete reproduction of the original.

Inside the castle exhibits Toyotomi's memorabillia, as well as displays relating to the history of the castle. Entrance to the castle is 600 yen, but the exhibition offers little interest to foreigners so its probably not worth the entrance fee but definately come here to look at the picturesque castle

Of special note are the grand gates and turrets along the outer moat. The steep walls that rise close to 30m high are made from huge blocks of stone that were transported to Osaka from quarries over 100km away. At the entrance to the Main Tower on the left is famous "marker gun," a cannon from the Tokugawa era that was fired every day to signal the noon hour.

If you have the time and patience you can search the walls for the family 'seal' engraved into some of the stones. This is the mark of the family who laid that particular section of the wall. If you visit the displays within the castle first there are examples of what and where to look. It is a nice way to spend a couple of hours and really gives you a connection with the history of the castle.

The museum is laid out across six floors, with the top floor being an observation deck and shop. The suggested route is to start at the top and work your way down. This is because the museum is laid out in reverse chronological order, i.e. the oldest displays are at he top. However this route requires a fair level of fitness, so we spent a few minutes enjoying the marvellous view from the observation deck wishing we'd taken the holiday route (one floor at a time starting from the bottom) instead.

• 1st floor; Theatre Room, Information, Museum Shop
• 2nd floor; Osaka Castle history (after the Tokugcswa Regime), Replica Dragon Fish, Replica Roof Tiles
• 3rd & 4th floors; Hidegoshi Toyotomi and his era (including models of the castle during this period), a full scale model of The Golden Tea Room (this is the tea room built by Hidegoshi Toyotomi).
• 5th Floor; Scenes from the ''Summer war of Osaka" folding Screen. This includes a miniature battle scene between the forces of Yukimura Sanada and Tadanao Matudaira.
• 6th Floor; the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, including his life story depicted in a miniature diorama. Around the walls are a number of monitors displaying holographic images of the Shogun at key points in his life. The narratives lead up to the two fateful sieges, the winter siege of 1614 and the summer siege of 1615, that led to the downfall of the Toyotomi family and the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The Castle is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm and costs ¥600 for adults and is free for children under 16. You can use the JR Osaka loop line getting off at Morinomiya Station (slightly longer walk), or, Tenmabash Station on the Tanimachi Subway line from Umeda Station.