Hikone Castle

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Attractions > Kyoto > Japanese Castles > Kyoto Station

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Hikone Castle by 663highland (GNU Free)

About

Hikone Castle was built as a Prize Castle when Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the surrounding lands to Ii Naomasa (Ii Naomasa was one of Tokugawa's seven great generals) after the battle of Sekigahara. Originally Tokugawa awarded Ii Sawayama a different Castle but Ii didn't like that castle and decided to build a new one. Unfortunately Ii died before construction started and his son Naotsugu started construction of the new castle using a lot of the materials from Sawayama Castle. When Naotsugu's brother Naotaka became lord he finally completed Hikone Castle in 1622, it took almost 20 years to build. The Ii family remained in control of the castle and the area for over 250 years until the Meiji Restoration. When the Meiji Government came to power they siezed all the castles and ordered the destruction of most all castles. Hikone Castle managed to escape destruction when the Emporer himself toured the area and decided to keep Hikone castle intact.

Hikone Castle in the fall by Hi:Jnn (CC0 1.0)

Hikone Castle is one of the twelve original castles in Japan and 1 of only 4 castles in Japan listed as a "National Treasure". The castle is beautiful and so are the grounds and garden. There is also an outstanding museum where you can learn and see lots of history concerning Hikone Castle.

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