Site Map
  Osaka Castle Index for
Osaka 		Limousines in
Osaka 		Website Links For
Osaka 		 

Information About

Osaka Castle
APPAREL
BABY
BEAUTY
BOOKS
CAR TOYS
CELL PHONES
DVD'S
ELECTRONICS
GOURMET FOOD
GROCERIES
HEALTH & PERSONAL
HOME & GARDEN
JEWELRY
MUSIC
MUSIC INSTRUMENTS
OFFICE PRODUCTS
SOFTWARE
SPORTING GOODS
TOOLS & HARDWARE
TOYS
VIDEO GAMES
SHOPPING HOME
MORE SHOPPING...



Osaka Castle (大坂城・大阪城; ''Ōsaka-jō'') is a castle in Chuo-ku , Osaka , Japan . Originally called ''Ozakajo'', it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century.

The castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one kilometer square. It is built on two raised platforms of landfill supported by sheer walls of cut rock, each overlooking a Moat . The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and built atop a tall stone foundation to protect its occupants from sword-bearing attackers.


Today

The castle is open to the public, and is easily accessible from Osakajo Koen Station on the JR Osaka Loop Line . It is a popular spot during festival seasons, and especially during the Cherry Blossom bloom, when the sprawling castle grounds are covered with food vendors and Taiko drummers.

The grounds also house a museum, convention hall, and the Toyokuni Shrine dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.


History

  • on the sides of the tower to impress visitors.

  • 1585 : Inner donjon completed. Toyotomi continued to extend and expand the castle, making it more and more formidable to attackers.

  • .

  • defeated Hideyori's armies at the Battle Of Sekigahara , and started his own Bakufu in Edo.

  • . Although the Toyotomi forces were outnumbered 2 to 1, they managed to fight off Tokugawa's 200,000-man army and protect the castle's outer walls. However, Tokugawa attempted to muzzle Toyotomi by filling up the castle's outer moat, rendering it largely defenseless.

  • . Osakajo fell to Tokugawa, and the Toyotomi clan perished.

  • , and bear inscribed crests of the various families who laid them into the walls.

  • 1665 : Lightning strikes burned down the main tower.

  • 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.

  • . Under the Meiji government, Osaka Castle was converted to a barracks for Japan's rapidly-expanding Western-style military.

  • 1928 : The main tower was restored after the mayor of Osaka concluded a highly successful fund-raising drive.

  • 1945 : Bombing raids on Osaka damaged the reconstructed main tower.

  • 1995 : Osaka's government approved yet another restoration project, with the intent of restoring the main tower to its Edo-era splendor.

  • 1997 : Restoration was completed.



External links