Hikone Castle

1 National Treasure: Hikone Castle Tenshu, Attached Turret, and Multilayered Turret
The main keep consists of three stories and three-tiered roofs. Its roofs feature a variety of gables, including kirizuma gable, irimoya gable, and karahafu gable. The second and third floors have katomado windows, and the third floor is surrounded by a covered circling veranda with railings, emphasizing its exterior and giving it a beautifully varied appearance.
It is said to have been moved from Ōtsu Castle, and is excellent not only in terms of its beautiful appearance as a political symbol, but also in military function, the castle’s original purpose. It was designated a National Treasure in 1952.
Besides Hikone Castle, the only other National Treasure castle keeps are those of Himeji Castle, Matsumoto Castle, Inuyama Castle, and Matsue Castle.
At night, it is illuminated and loved by local residents as a landmark of Hikone City.

2 Important Cultural Property
Hikone Castle West Bailey Three-Story Turret and Connecting Turret
This turret stands west of the West Bailey, with a deep dry moat between it and the outer enclosure extending farther west. It was a key defensive structure prepared to guard against enemies approaching from the rear, or karemate. The three-story turret was built to overlook this rear approach and also served in peacetime to monitor Lake Biwa.

3 Important Cultural Property
Hikone Castle Taiko Gate and Connecting Turret
This turret gate guards the main entrance to the Honmaru, where the main keep stands, and is said to have been named after the drum used for signaling within the castle. The rear side of the building is open, forming a corridor with railings, an extremely rare structure for a turret. In addition, a survey of the timbers during dismantling and repair revealed that it had been relocated from another castle gate.

4 Important Cultural Property
Hikone Castle Balance Turret
This is located at the top of the two slopes from Ōte Gate and Omote Gate. It is said that the corridor bridge in front of it would be dropped in time of war, and enemy soldiers climbing up the Omote Gate mountain path or the Ōte Gate mountain path would have to scale the high stone walls of the Balance Turret before they could enter the Honmaru, making it an important stronghold. The turret gate connected to the corridor bridge is placed at the center, and the corners of the connecting turrets facing the two slopes are designed as two-story turrets, creating perfect symmetry, which is the origin of the name “Balance Turret.” It is thought to have been moved from another castle. The stone base of the building is built in sangi-meshigumi style on the right side, dating from the time of construction, and in oshidashi-zumi style on the left side, from a late Edo-period renovation.

5 Time Bell
It was relocated from the “Bell Bailey” so that its sound would carry throughout the castle, and it is still rung at fixed times. It has been selected as one of the “100 Best Soundscapes of Japan.”
During the late Edo period, in the time of the 12th lord Naomasa, a large number of koban gold coins were added during casting in an effort to create a more beautiful tone.
At the adjacent Chōshō-an, you can enjoy usucha tea with a sweet for ¥500. (9:00–16:00)

6 Kannon-dai
In 710, on Mount Hikone, Hikonedera Temple was founded by Fujiwara no Fusasaki, the governor of Ōmi Province, with a small Kannon statue as the principal image. It is said that there once stood a hall enshrining Kannon riding on a golden turtle.
Kannon is believed to bring benefits to the eyes, and the rumor spread even to Kyoto; it is said that many people, including Emperor Shirakawa and court ministers, visited Hikone Mountain Kannon.

7 Yamazaki Curved Enclosure (Yamazaki Bailey Site)
This was the site of the Kimata residence, and is said to be where Ii Naotaka was welcomed upon his triumphant return. The former Yamazaki Gate also stood here.
Although few people visit, a quiet, open space surrounded by trees spreads out here, making it a place of peace and comfort.
A leisurely and beautiful spot throughout the seasons.

8 Plum Grove
This area once held the rice storehouses for the official rice supplies of Hikone Castle.
Each year, from mid- to late March, about 450 red and white plum trees announce the arrival of spring.
These plum trees were planted to commemorate Hikone Castle being selected as one of the New Japan Tourist Attractions Top 100.

9 Important Cultural Property
Stable
It is said that 21 horses belonging to the lord and others were kept here. The stable remaining inside the castle is a rare structure found only at Hikone Castle in Japan. After its second major conservation and restoration project in fiscal 2015, the beautiful cypress-bark roof was restored to its original appearance.

10 Scenic Spot: Genkyū-en Garden
Genkyū-en is a large pond stroll garden created in the early Edo period as a rear garden for the lower residence known as Tsukigoten (present-day Rakurakuen). In the pond at the center, four small islands of various sizes were built, and bridges of different styles were placed to allow free strolling while also creating scenic views within the garden. The pond in the foreground viewed from Musashino, Hōshō-dai (a tea pavilion) in the middle distance, and the castle keep in the upper background create a well-balanced, postcard-like view that delights visitors. In addition, the trees and flowers in Genkyū-en, including the autumn leaves, display seasonal beauty throughout the year.

11 Hōshō-dai
This is an ideal elevated spot, said to have been named for the place where a phoenix soars up toward the sky. The name “Hōshō-dai” appears in the “Genkyū-en Illustrated Map” drawn in the Edo period as one of the ten scenic highlights of Genkyū-en. The illustration also shows a magnificently decorated boat below the terrace, suggesting that people sometimes enjoyed boating here.

12 Scenic Spot: Rakurakuen
The area now called Rakurakuen is said to correspond to the lower residence built in 1677 by the fourth lord, Naonori, and in the Edo period it was known by names such as Tsukigoten. This Tsukigoten served not only as a lower residence but also as a retirement retreat, and the 13th lord Naosuke was born here as the son of the 11th lord Naochika, who was living in retirement. Since fiscal 2005, preservation and restoration work has been carried out on the historic buildings of Tsukigoten.

13 Important Cultural Property
Hikone Castle Ninomaru Sawaguchi Multilayered Turret
A connecting turret extending to the left toward Sawaguchi. It was burned in a fire in 1767, and the present building was rebuilt between 1769 and 1771. In the Meiji period, the turret gate was lost, but originally it formed one integrated structure with the connecting turret extending to the right (present-day Kaikoku Memorial Hall).
*Currently closed to the public

14 Iroha Pine Avenue
This pine-lined path along the middle moat toward Omotemon Bridge was named because there were 47 pine trees here.
Today, 34 trees remain (with 12 replanted), preserving a glimpse of the scenery of that time.
When the third lord, Ii Naotaka, transplanted bamboo and trees collected from various provinces into the castle grounds, Tosa pine was planted so that its roots would not rise above the ground and obstruct passage.

15 Umoregi-no-ya
The residence where Ii Naosuke spent his youth.
Naosuke composed the waka poem, “Though I look at the world as something apart, I shall remain like a buried tree, with no heart to be buried away,” and named the place “Umoregi-no-ya” himself, devoting himself to training in both the civil and martial arts. It is said that the talents that later made him the great elder of the Tokugawa shogunate and a father of Japan’s opening were cultivated here.

Designated Cultural Property by Hikone City
Former Ikedaya Residence Nagayamon Gate
As a typical nagayamon gate of a middle-ranking samurai residence from the former Hikone domain, it was designated a cultural property by Hikone City in 1973. Over a three-year period beginning in 2009, it underwent a complete dismantling and restoration. Inside, you can also see the stable section where horses were once tethered.