Hikone Castle

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A beautiful castle inside and out with many small interesting points here and there. Take your time to explore and enjoy it. Don't miss the various yagura and gates in a rush to get to the main main keep. With the reconstructed lord's palace and the original gardens on teh grounds of this castle, in

Hikone41.jpg

History

For his participation in the Battle of Sekigahara, Ii Naomasa was awardded Sawayama castle and surrounding lands. Due to its inconvenient locationa 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

A beautiful castle inside and out with many small interesting points here and there. Take your time to explore and enjoy it. Don't miss the various yagura and gates in a rush to get to the main main keep. With the reconstructed lord's palace and the original gardens on teh grounds of this castle, in some ways it demonstrates what a castle was really like even more so than Himeji Castle.


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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)

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Main Keep Interior

(10 photos)

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Outer Moat Area

(31 photos)

Hikoneboat14.jpg

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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 Special Historic Site, Top 100 Castles, has National Treasures, has Important Cultural Properties
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, tenshu, Tsukiyagura, Tamon Yagura, umaya, Ninomaru Sawaguchi Tamon Yagura
Features stone walls
Visitor Information
Access Hikone Station (Tokaido Honsen), walk 15 minutes
Hours
Time Required
URL Castle Website
Location Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture
Coordinates 35.276491, 136.251744
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Admin
Added to Jcastle
Admin Year Visited 1996, 2004
Admin Visits April 1996, February 21, 2004
4.71
(56 votes)
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