Nagoya Castle

Nagoya Castle was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first barbarian general of the Edo shogunate, with a total of more than 5 million construction workers, and was well known throughout Japan.

Built in 1612 by Tokugawa Ieyasu as his final effort to unify the country, Nagoya Castle, with its glittering golden orchids, prospered as the stronghold of the Owari Domain, the first of the three Tokugawa families, with a total of 619,000 koku.

Aritomo Yamagata, who served as the third and ninth prime minister after the Meiji Restoration, decided in 1879 to preserve Nagoya Castle along with Himeji Castle, and the castle tower and Honmaru Palace were preserved.

However, most of the buildings were burnt to ashes in the Nagoya air raids of 1945. Only six buildings, including the southwest and southeast corner turrets, are still standing.

Nagoya Castle’s main keep, a five-story main keep and a smaller keep, were rebuilt in 1959.

Nagoya Castle has been selected as one of the 100 best castles in Japan and is designated as a national special historic site.

It is currently undergoing restoration work, and when completed along with the restoration of the barrier paintings, it will recreate the magnificent castle culture.

In 2018, the Honmaru Goten, considered the masterpiece of the early modern castle palace, was restored.

Kinshachi Yokocho, a gourmet street modeled after the Edo castle town, has been created. It is a lively spot where you can enjoy Nagoya gourmet food in the atmosphere of a castle town.