Saturday, September 29, 2012

Osaka Castle


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The Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Osaka, Japan; One of Japan most famous castles, Osaka’s most famous landmark and symbol of the city. The castle was built in 1583 by Hideyasu Toyotomi to become the center of the new, unified Japan under his rule, it suffered several destructions through its history, and the current castle was built in 1931 in the image of Toyotomi’s castle. The main tower underwent major renovations and repairs in 1997, providing the castle more modern facilities like an elevator. The Japanese government has designated the main tower as a tangible cultural property.

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The castle grounds cover an area of approximately 60,000 square meters, although the main tower is of recent construction, thirteen structures remain in original condition and have been designated Important Cultural Assets by the Japanese Government. The main tower, situated on an elevated platform of landfill, is suported by walls of cut rock surrounded by a moat.

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The main tower is five levels on the outside and eight on the inside, with a museum with several historical objects on display.
Several of the castle ornaments like the tiger’s reliefs, the dolphins, and roof ornaments are glided with gold.


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There is an observation deck at the 8th floor providing an unmatchable view. The Osaka castle Hall, the Osaka Business Park and the surrounding area can be fully appreciated from the deck.

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The Kinmeisui well was originally called Ogonsui (golden water), and according to the legend, Hideyoshi sank gold bars on the well to eliminate Miasma, however it was established by investigation by Osaka University in1959, that the current well was dug in during the Tokugawa Shogunate when rebuilding the castle.


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The beauty and historical significance of the castle made a visit indispensable if you visit Osaka


View Osaka castle in a larger map

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not really a fan of Osaka Castle, but those shots are stunning!
Well done! :)

islandjp said...

Thanks Jasmine, I really enjoyed the Osaka castle, it is indeed one of the most beautiful castles in Japan. Now, the summer heat that is a different story.

Unknown said...

Personally I think Osaka Castle is nice from the outside, but super boring inside.

For me it's not one of the most beautiful castles, but thus far I've only visited about 80 Japanese castles, so I don't know for sure :)

islandjp said...

Well, inside is not really a castle. This castle is a reconstruction on the image of the original castle.
Wow 80 castles, I don't think I have been to that many.

Unknown said...

Yepp: http://zoomingjapan.com/japanese-castles/
The list needs to be updated like WOAH!

Of course, I know that Osaka is a reconstruction. Not a good reconstruction, though.
I prefer the original castles. Even some ruins are quite interesting! ^^

Tomoko said...

Gorgeous castle!
大都会の中にあるお城ですね。

View Japan へのコメント有難うございました。
Green Tomato