Erected in 1583 by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the ashes of the Honganji temple, the Osaka castle was for 32 years the most powerful place in Japan. Burned to the ground during the Summer War of Osaka (1615), it was rebuilt by the Tokugawa shogunate.

After 248 years, the tower burned during the Boshin war, and was reconstructed for the third time in 1931. During the bombings of the WWII the Osaka castle was again burned to ashes, and was reconstructed for the fourth 34 years later, but this time was made of concrete.

However, parts of the defensive walls and the surrounding moats survived from the first construction. Today they are fully reconstructed, looking close to how they were during Hideyoshi’s rule…

Osaka Castle, Osaka

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Terukuni shrine, Kagoshima