Nagoya Castle

After winning the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu began construction of Nagoya Castle in 1610 (Keicho 15) as a defense against the Toyotomi forces in Osaka. Ordered to build the castle were 20 western-domain lords who had previously served the Toyotomi family, including Kato Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori. This was known as tenka-bushin, or “national construction.”
Built to embody Tokugawa prestige, Nagoya Castle was equipped with a विशाल main keep topped by golden shachihoko, the splendid Honmaru Palace, the expansive Ninomaru Garden, high stone walls and deep moats, and a strong, ingenious layout, making it the culmination of early modern castle architecture.
Over the 260 years of the Edo period, Nagoya Castle flourished as the residence of the Owari Tokugawa family, the foremost of the gosanke, the three branch families of the Tokugawa.
At the time of its construction, an entire-town relocation from Kiyosu known as Kiyosu-goshi was carried out, forming the go-board street pattern of the castle town that became the prototype of present-day Nagoya.
As one of Japan’s leading castles that preserves the appearance of the past, Nagoya Castle has been designated a Special Historic Site by the national government.
Nagoya Castle is the starting point of Nagoya’s urban development and a testament to Nagoya culture. Here you can encounter the essence of early modern castle architecture that should be handed down to future generations.

▸ Honmaru Palace (destroyed and rebuilt)
Built in 1615 (Keicho 20) as the residence of the lord of Owari Domain and the domain’s administrative center, this is a representative example of shoin-style architecture in Japan. It was hailed as the finest masterpiece of an early modern castle palace, and, together with the castle keep, was designated the first National Treasure. Sadly destroyed in the air raids of 1945 (Showa 20), it was accurately reconstructed based on valuable historical materials such as Edo-period drawings, and in 2018 (Heisei 30) its lavish former appearance was restored.

▸ Scenic Spot: Ninomaru Garden
This garden was created north of the Ninomaru Palace, where successive lords spent time both privately and officially. It is the largest garden in Japan attached to a lord’s residence. Although most of the garden was removed along with the palace in the Meiji period, it was recognized that highly valuable remains of a large late-Edo daimyo garden survived, and in 2018 (Heisei 30), nearly the entire area of the garden was designated a Scenic Spot.

▸ Important Cultural Property: Southwest Corner Turret
Located at the southwest corner of the Honmaru, this turret was built around 1612 (Keicho 17). From the outside, the roof appears to have two tiers, but inside it is a three-story turret, making it a rare architectural form. On the west and south sides of the second floor, projecting stone-dropping openings used to attack enemies are roofed over.

▸ Important Cultural Property: Southeast Corner Turret
Located at the southeast corner of the Honmaru, this turret was built around 1612 (Keicho 17). It has the same structure as the Southwest Corner Turret, and the eaves on the east side of the third floor are decorated with a refined kara-hafu gable called noki-kara-hafu.

▸ Important Cultural Property: Northwest Corner Turret
Located at the northwest corner of Ofukemaru, this turret was built around 1619 (Genna 5). With three stories in appearance and three stories inside, it is the second largest surviving three-story turret in Japan from the Edo period.

Main Keep (destroyed and rebuilt)
Completed in 1612 (Keicho 17), it was destroyed in the air raids of 1945 (Showa 20) but was rebuilt after the war as a steel-frame reinforced concrete structure. It is currently closed to the public due to issues such as aging facilities and the need to ensure seismic safety.

▸ Important Cultural Property: Omotemon Gate
Completed around 1612 (Keicho 17), this gate stands on the south side of the Honmaru. The timber used for the gate posts and doors is thick, and iron plates are nailed on, making it a strongly built structure. The side walls on both sides of the gate are earthen walls with firing holes for guns.

▸ Important Cultural Property: Former Ninomaru East Gate
Completed around 1612 (Keicho 17), this gate is in the Koraimon style, with roofs on the main pillars and the left and right supporting pillars. Iron bands are nailed to the gate posts and doors. It was formerly located at the site of the Ninomaru East Iron Gate, but in 1972 (Showa 47) it was relocated to the site of the Honmaru East Ninomaru Gate using the original materials.

▸ Main Gate (Former Enokida Gate, destroyed and rebuilt)
The main gate leading to the Honmaru was a prestigious gate that only the lord and a select few retainers such as senior counselors were allowed to use. In 1910 (Meiji 43), the Hasuike Imperial Gate from within the former Edo Castle was relocated here, but it was destroyed in wartime; it was then rebuilt in 1959 (Showa 34) together with the main keep.

▸ Tea Rooms
Within the garden of Ofukemaru, about 2,000 square meters in area, there are several historic tea rooms: the Shoin, Sarumenboukaku Chashitsu, Yuin Chashitsu, and Oribe-do.

▸ Nishi-no-Maru Warehouse Castle Treasure Museum
The Nishi-no-Maru Warehouse Castle Treasure Museum is an exhibition and storage facility that recreates the exterior appearance of the third and fourth warehouses that once stood in Nishi-no-Maru. It was named “Castle Treasure Museum” because it is located on the site of Nagoya Castle’s former warehouses and serves as a place to introduce the castle’s “treasures” and “information.”
Through the “History Information Room,” which introduces the history of Nagoya Castle, and the “Exhibition Room,” which displays Nagoya Castle’s collections, including the nationally designated Important Cultural Property murals from the Honmaru Palace, visitors can enjoy learning about the history and appeal of Nagoya Castle in depth.

▸ Stone Walls / Kiyomasa Stone
By order of Tokugawa Ieyasu, 20 external daimyo who had formerly served the Toyotomi family carried out the stone wall construction. Each daimyo’s mark is carved into the stones. The largest boulder is called “Kiyomasa Stone,” and it is said to have been transported by Kato Kiyomasa, though the actual builder of this section of the stone wall was Kuroda Nagamasa, so this is likely only a legend.

▸ Buried Gate Site
A gate for the lord’s escape was once located west of Ninomaru Garden. In an emergency, one would pass through a gate built low in the earthen wall, descend by stairs to the dry moat, cross by boat to the opposite bank of the water moat (Ofukie-Ohoori), and escape from there.

▸ Nogi Storehouse
This Meiji-period building remaining in Ofukemaru was constructed as an ammunition storehouse. Its name is said to come from Major General Nogi Maresuke of the Imperial Army, though this is not certain. It escaped destruction in the air raids, and many screen paintings and ceiling paintings that had been evacuated in advance were preserved.

▸ Natural Monument: Hissho Kaya Tree
This natural monument is a kaya tree believed to be over 600 years old. It is said that when Owari Domain’s first lord, Tokugawa Yoshinao, set out for the Siege of Osaka, he placed its nuts on his meal tray in prayer for victory.