Osaka Castle Tower - Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Japan
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N 34° 41.212 E 135° 31.547
53S E 548160 N 3838444
Osaka Castle Tower serves as a history museum displaying valuable cultural assets and interesting exhibits such as the restored Golden Tea Room.
Waymark Code: WM17NWH
Location: Osaka, Japan
Date Posted: 03/16/2023
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The construction of Osaka Castle started in 1583 on the former site of the Ishiyama Honganji Temple, which had been destroyed by Oda Nobunaga thirteen years earlier. Toyotomi Hideyoshi intended the castle to become the center of a new, unified Japan under Toyotomi rule. It was the largest castle at the time.
However, a few years after Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa troops attacked and destroyed the castle and terminated the Toyotomi lineage in 1615. Osaka Castle was rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada in the 1620s, but its main castle tower was struck by lightening in 1665 and burnt down.
It was not until 1931 that the present ferro-concrete reconstruction of the castle tower was built. During the war it miraculously survived the city-wide air raids. Major repair works gave the castle new glamor in 1997. The castle tower is now entirely modern on the inside and even features an elevator for easier accessibility.
After reconstruction, it became a historical museum named "Osaka Castle Tower", and has a rich collection of cultural assets related to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Warring States period, and the history of Osaka Castle.
The great view from the tower's viewing platform is not to be missed, and trying on the "samurai" costumes - combat overcoat and warrior helmet - is a fun experience.
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