Virtual Tour | Inuyama Castle: Japan’s Oldest Original Castle with a Dramatic and Storied History
To be clear, Inuyama Castle is in Gifu Prefecture, but in the Nagoya area. Inuyama is the smallest of Japan’s 12 remaining ‘intact’ castles, but it is the oldest. Through the period of war between feudal lords it was a strategic property in the Owari Domain (today’s AIchi) overlooking the Kiso River towards Gifu (formerly the Mino Domain). By the mid-1400s, Inuyama wasn’t a castle but rather a fortified hill. It was Oda Nobunaga, in 1537, who chose to reinforce it to become a proper castle, using some of the materials from the former Kinoshita Castle. Inuyama Castle is an example of advanced castle architecture of the time. As the conflict over who would control Japan continued to grow, so did the number of castles (up to 50,000 by the time Tokugawa Ieyasu tacitly unified Japan).
When the second and third of the so-called ‘unifiers’, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, were engaged in conflict at nearby Komaki and Nagakutte (giving the name to the Battle of Komaki-Nagakutte), Toyotomi occupied Inuyama Castle with an estimated 120,000 troops. The battle ultimately ended in a stalemate. The castle was maintained throughout the Tokugawa Period, but when the Meiji Restoration saw tens of thousands of Japanese castles dismantled, Inuyama managed to survive, albeit with the outer buildings and gates removed. The new Meiji government was intent on tearing down anything that could have been used for revolt.
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➡️ Explore Japan’s rich history with engaging video content, including in 360°. Designed to be a fun and interactive way to learn about the fascinating history of Japan, discover the wonders of this incredible country. Educators of Japanese history and culture are welcome to download free image content.
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