Fushimi Momoyama Castle

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Attractions > Kyoto > Japanese Castles > Kyoto Station

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Fushimi Castle by Yoshio Kohara (CC BY 3.0) on SnapJapan.com

About

Fushimi Castle by Thomas Vanierschot (CC0 1.0)

Fushimi Momoyama Castle was built in 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi after he retired from the regency, the castle was intended more as a retirement palace. However, just one year later the castle was destroyed in a huge earthquake that hit the region. The castle was rebuilt and Toyotomi lived there a couple years before he died and the castle was put under control of Torii Mototada, a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The castle came under siege in 1600 by Tokugawa's rival Ishida Mitsunari and Torii was able to hold out long enough for Tokugawa to build his own army and prepare for the Battle of Sekigahara. After Tokugawa became supreme Shogun of Japan, according to his own "one castle per province" rule the castle was dismantled in 1623. Emperor Meiji's tomb was built on the original location of the castle so the current "castle" is a "mock up replica" built at the nearby current location.

Fushimi Momoyama Castle by Blazeman (CC0 1.0)

! NOTE ! The current "castle / mock up" sits in a park. You cannot enter the castle itself, it is closed, but you can walk around it. Please talk to your hotel clerk before heading out to visit the castle to make sure the park area is still open to visitors as they have strange closing dates. The castle is concrete, built in 1964... if your in Kyoto, have a little extra time and want to see a Japanese Style castle, its close and actually pretty nice looking but it is just a "mock up".

Please visit our Japanese Castles page to find more castles in Japan.