No. 049ShigaRuins & historic sites
Odani Castle
The Azai family held this ridge-top castle for three generations. Stonework and terraces among the trees preserve the layout even though its buildings have gone.
Explore this castleCastles of Japan · Volume 04
Kinki
Explore 14 selected castles in Kinki. Photographs, historical timelines, architecture and official sources help you discover each site.
No. 049 — 062 · 14 castles
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No. 049
No. 050ShigaOriginal keep
Hikone Castle
The Ii family’s castle brings together an ornate keep, surviving turrets, moats and a lord’s garden. Its elegant appearance sits alongside carefully controlled defensive approaches.
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No. 051ShigaRuins & historic sites
Azuchi Castle
Oda Nobunaga’s castle survives as stone approaches and hilltop remains. Broad steps and residence sites explain its planning as well as inviting questions about the lost keep.
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No. 052ShigaRuins & historic sites
Kannonji Castle
Stone-lined terraces spread across Mount Kinugasa at this Rokkaku stronghold. Its residences and defences offer a view of stone castle building before Azuchi.
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No. 053KyotoRuins & historic sites
Nijo Castle
Palaces and gardens preserve the shoguns’ presence in Kyoto. Although its keep is gone, Nijo retains exceptional buildings for understanding formal samurai life.
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No. 054OsakaReconstructed buildings
Osaka Castle
Famous as Hideyoshi’s castle, Osaka preserves walls and moats largely from Tokugawa rebuilding. The keep dates to 1931, making this a place to read several historical layers.
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No. 055OsakaRuins & historic sites
Chihaya Castle
This mountain stronghold is associated with Kusunoki Masashige. Deep valleys and narrow ridges, rather than a keep or monumental walls, explain its defensive strength.
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No. 056HyogoRuins & historic sites
Takeda Castle
Stone walls trace the mountain ridges so clearly that the castle’s shape remains visible without buildings. Beyond its cloud-sea photographs, the terraces and masonry reward a close look.
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No. 057HyogoRuins & historic sites
Sasayama Castle
A reconstructed wooden audience hall stands within moats and walls. Sasayama rewards attention to palace scale and protected entrances rather than a towering keep.
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No. 058HyogoRuins & historic sites
Akashi Castle
Two three-storey turrets stand above high walls. A keep platform was built, but no keep followed, leaving the turrets to define the castle’s skyline.
Explore this castleNo. 059HyogoOriginal keep
Himeji Castle
White-plastered keeps rise together above the hill at one of Japan’s great surviving wooden castles. Its graceful skyline contrasts with the intricate approach through successive gates.
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No. 060HyogoRuins & historic sites
Ako Castle
Ako once faced the sea, using moats and angled walls to defend a level site. With no keep ever built, gates, palace traces and gardens explain the domain’s stronghold.
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No. 061NaraRuins & historic sites
Takatori Castle
Massive stone walls rise through the forest at this mountain castle. Even without its buildings, the main and second enclosures retain the scale of a fortified summit.
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No. 062WakayamaReconstructed buildings
Wakayama Castle
White keeps crown Mount Torafusu at the Kishu Tokugawa castle. The present towers are postwar reconstructions, while walls, a historic gate and gardens reveal a longer history.
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