Hikone Castle: Difference between revisions

From Jcastle.info
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 46: Line 46:
|FriendWebsiteName=Ken's Storage - Hikone Castle
|FriendWebsiteName=Ken's Storage - Hikone Castle
|FriendWebsiteURL=http://www.japancastle.jp/2014/05/Hikone-castle1.html
|FriendWebsiteURL=http://www.japancastle.jp/2014/05/Hikone-castle1.html
}}{{FriendsLinks
|FriendWebsiteName=Malcolm Fairman Photography - Hikone Castle
|FriendWebsiteURL=https://malcolmfairman.smugmug.com/Photographs/Japanese-Castles/Hikone-Castle
}}
}}
}}
}}

Revision as of 15:24, 14 June 2020

With the reconstructed lord's palace (castle museum), Hikone Castle is one of the most complete castles in Japan for you to visit and get a feeling for an Edo Period castle. Take your time to go into the gates and yagura that are open and take some time to explore walk around the outside of the moat

Hikone41.jpg

History

For his participation in the Battle of Sekigahara, Ii Naomasa was awarded the lands surrounding Sawayama Castle. Due to its inconvenient location and poor condition, he soon started planning for a new castle on a new location that would become Hikone Castle.

Unfortunately, Naomasa died soon after and the castle was actually begun under his son Naotsugu. It took 20 years and was completed under Naotsugu's brother Naotaka who had become lord of the castle in 1615. The main keep of Hikone-jo is famous for having used several types of gables and construction techniques to make it well fortified. The main keep and connected yagura are designated National Treasures. I find it amazing that the ii family magaed to maintain their rule over Hikone Castle over 250 from the beginning of the Edo Period until the Meiji restoration.


Field Notes

With the reconstructed lord's palace (castle museum), Hikone Castle is one of the most complete castles in Japan for you to visit and get a feeling for an Edo Period castle. Take your time to go into the gates and yagura that are open and take some time to explore walk around the outside of the moats. You'll get some fantastic views of the castle and all the great stone walls to better understand the scale of the castle too.

My 2019 trip was the first time back in over 15 years. I actually went to Hikone Castle after Sasou Castle and Sawayama Castle and it was intended as just a simple walk around the outer moats while catching up with a friend who lives nearby but we did a pretty good job exploring most of the grounds except for the interior of the main keep, the museum and garden. Perhaps on a trip to Kansai this year I can visit again to renew these photos too.

The most impressive aspect for me on this trip was examining the climbing stone walls (Nobori Ishigaki).


Loading map...


Gallery
  • Hikonegenkyuen9.jpg
  • Hikone41.jpg
  • Hikonegenkyuen10.jpg
  • Hikone5.jpg
  • Hikone14.jpg
  • Hikone16.jpg
  • Hikone28.jpg
  • Hikone35.jpg
  • Hikone61.jpg
  • Hikone4.jpg
  • Hikone130.jpg
  • Hikone128.jpg
  • Hikone129.jpg


More Galleries and Feature Pages

Hikone41.jpg

Main Areas

(61 photos)

Hikone104.jpg

Main Keep Interior

(10 photos)

Hikoneboat14.jpg

Hikone85.jpg

Outer Moat Area

(31 photos)

Hikone118.jpg

Hikone127.jpg

Castle Town

(37 photos)

Hikonegenkyuen9.jpg

Genkyuen Garden

(18 photos)

Castle Profile
English Name Hikone Castle
Japanese Name 彦根城
Founder Ii Naomasa
Year Founded 1603
Castle Type Hilltop
Castle Condition Original main keep
Designations Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, has National Treasures, Special Historic Site
Historical Period Edo Period
Main Keep Structure 3 levels, 3 stories
Artifacts Tenbin Yagura, Taiko Gate and Tsuzuki Yagura, Nishinomaru 3 level yagura and tsuzukiyagura, main keep, Tsukiyagura, Tamon Yagura, umaya, Ninomaru Sawaguchi Tamon Yagura
Features main keep, gates, turrets, palace, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access Hikone Station (Tokaido Honsen), walk 15 minutes
Hours
Time Required
URL Castle Website
Location Hikone, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates 35.27649, 136.25174
Loading map...
Admin
Added to Jcastle 1999
Admin Year Visited 1996, 2004, 2019
Admin Visits April 1996; February 21, 2004; March 1, 2019
Friends of JCastle
Shirobito - Hikone Castle
Kojodan- Hikone Castle
Jokaku Horoki - Hikone Castle
Ken's Storage - Hikone Castle
Malcolm Fairman Photography - Hikone Castle
4.71
(56 votes)
Loading comments...