lea pof travels: Osaka, Japan: Osaka Castle

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Osaka, Japan: Osaka Castle

Third and last time (I hope!) building this beloved symbol of Osaka

After temple-fatigue, it was time to visit some castles. I wouldn't miss the Osaka Castle for the world. Another castle worthy of mention is the Wakayama Castle. I had to walk all the way around the perimeter of the castle to get inside the Castle Park (too bad it was not cherry blossom season!).

Gokurakubashi is a bridge that connects the Yamazato-maru Bailey and the Ni-no-maru Bailey. The original Osaka Castle that Hideyoshi Toyotomi began to build in 1583 had a bridge called Gokurakubashi, and this name was succeeded by the bridge rebuilt later by the Tokugawa shogunate. This bridge was lost in a fire in 1868 and the present bridge was rebuilt in 1965. Considering that "gokuraku" is a Buddhist term meaning the world of peace, the name could be associated with the Osaka (Ishiyama) Hongan-ji Temple, located on this site before the Osaka Castle was built by Hideyoshi.

The main tower we see today was rebuilt in 1931 with donations from the citizens of Osaka, modeled after a picture of the main tower dating back to the Toyotomi period (late 16th Century) as depicted in the folding screen illustrating the summer war of Osaka. The original main tower was completed in 1585 by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, but was lost in a fire during the Summer War of Osaka in 1615. The second main tower was built in 1626 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which again, was lost in fire caused a lightning strike in 1665. The third main tower, which remains today, has been open to the public as a museum (Osaka Castle Museum) since its inception.