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| Osaka Castle, Chuo-ku | ||
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［Otemae］by bus about 400m to the east |
| The priest Rennyo built a monk's lodge
near the site of the present Osaka Castle.
It grew to be the Ishiyama Honganji Temple. Osaka developed within the compound of the temple. The temple was burned down after 11years of battle with Nobunaga. Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and planed to build a castle on the site. He began to built it in November, 11th year of Tensyo(1583). All the details of the plan was not to be brought to light for short of historical record. According to the investigation by excavation, an accumulated natural stone-wall built on a field was found at the underground about 100meters away to the eastsouth of the present Tenshukaku(main) keep. Checking up the ground plan of the Honmaru(bailey), the size of the Honmaru was almost the same as that of the present bailey, but the location and the height of the Tenshukaku in those days was situated to the northeast and 20meters lower than that of the bailey in the Tokugawa era. All of the buildings in those days were burned down in the Summer Siege and there remains nothing. The Osaka Castle including a moat and a stone-wall that we can see now was constructed in the era of Edo to show off the authority of the Tokugawa shogunate. The second shogun Hidetada planned it so that the moat and the stone-wall should increase the depth and height of that by two times and constructed it from the first(the 6th year of Genna(1620)) to the third(the 6th year of Kanei(1629)) construction. Daimyos who were told to put compulsory services made efforts with loyalty to construct it by using large stones such as Furisodeishi, Takoishi and Higoishi. The Tenshukaku was completed in August, 3rd year of Kanei, but it was burned to ashes by thunder after 40years and it was not reconstructed by the shogunate since then. There are now in the precincts 13 ancient buildings constructed in the Edo era, the Otemae gate, Yagura, the treasure house, the Sakuramon and others, and all are designated as the important cultural assets. The present Tenshukaku was reconstructed by contributions of the Osaka citizens in the 6th year of Showa. It was constructed by referring to Osaka Natsunojinzu Byobu(Six-folded Screen with a Picture of the Summer Siege) called Kuroda Byobu kept at Tenshukaku. The keep is available as a local history museum and the related materials of Hideyoshi are displayed. Osaka Municipal Museum was lined with it and both of them hold special exhibitions in Spring and Autumn. The museum was the building of the divisional headquarters of the Imperial Army built with the Keep. It followed an example of the castle building of the European style in the middle ages. After the War it was used for a while as the building of the police agency and later became the present museum in the 35th year of Showa. In the exhibition room the materials related to the history and culture of Osaka are displayed to be easily understood and the corner of “The Road of ramble around historic scenes”is equipped here. |
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| to the top of The Uemachi-daichi kita course |
