- Type
- Castle
- Origins
- 1575 · 16th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Shiga Prefecture, Japan
- Coordinates
- 35.3775°, 136.2611°
History
In 1573, after the defeat of the Azai clan, Oda Nobunaga granted their lands to Hashiba Hideyoshi, later Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who found the mountaintop Odani Castle impractical as a seat. In 1575–1576 he therefore built a new castle on the plain by Lake Biwa, partly with materials from Odani, and renamed the village of Imahama as Nagahama, borrowing one character from Nobunaga's name. After the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583 the castle passed to Yamanouchi Kazutoyo; in 1586 the Tenshō earthquake wrecked the buildings and part of the site slid into the lake. The Naitō family held it after the Battle of Sekigahara, but in 1615 the castle was abolished and most of its materials went into the building of Hikone Castle. In 1983 a reinforced concrete keep modelled on Inuyama and Fushimi castles was built on the former castle grounds.
What to see
The reconstructed keep, with three roof tiers and five floors, houses the Nagahama Castle History Museum, covering the castle and the town, with a lift to the third floor and a viewing gallery on the top floor looking out over Lake Biwa and the surrounding country. The castle grounds are now the large Hō Park, known for its plum and cherry blossom. Gates said to have been moved from the castle survive elsewhere in the town, for example at Daitsū-ji temple, and remains of the submerged part of the castle lie on the lake bed.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1013195
Popularity: articles about this site in 10 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).