Ôsaka castle

大阪城 ôsaka-jô

castle with rebuilt main tower / japanische Burg

Chûô-ku / Ôsaka City

Within three years (1583-85), TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi had the most massive fortification in Japan built in the present-day city of Ôsaka. The total circumference of Ôsakao-jô was 15 km and its nine-storey main tower was 42 m high. In 1615, TOKUGAWA Ieyasu captured the castle and later placed it under the control of the shogunate in Edo. In 1620, the new heir to the shogunate, TOKUGAWA Hidetada, began to reconstruct and re-arm the castle. He assigned the task of constructing new walls to individual samurai clans – these walls still stand today. It was not until 1843, almost 200 years later, that the castle was partially rebuilt with donations, but with the end of the feudal period, the fortress was set on fire in 1868 and not rebuilt until 1931. The main tower was heavily damaged by bombing during the Second World War in 1945 and rebuilt 1994-97.