Castles in Japan
Keeps, turrets and the other buildings of a castle.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto, Nagano
Five connected buildings form this National Treasure keep: the main keep, the Inui small keep and the linking turret, joined by the Tatsumi turret and the Moon-Viewing Turret. Wartime defenses of the late 16th century sit beside a peaceful early-Edo moon-viewing pavilion, and the main keep is considered the oldest surviving five-tier, six-floor keep in Japan.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Inuyama Castle
Inuyama, Aichi
Standing on a hill above the Kiso River, Inuyama Castle's keep is a National Treasure that the castle's official site calls the oldest surviving keep in Japan. Climb its steep stairs to the top-floor lookout for views over the river, the old castle town and the Nobi Plain.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Hikone Castle
Hikone, Shiga
Hikone Castle, long the seat of the Ii family, has a three-story National Treasure keep said to have been moved here from Otsu Castle. The highlight is not its size but its roof, layered with a varied mix of curved and triangular gables.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Nijo Castle
Kyoto, Kyoto
Built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nijo Castle keeps the Ninomaru Palace, six linked halls that form the only castle palace complex surviving in Japan. Inside are Kano school wall paintings, "nightingale" floors that chirp underfoot, and the Ohiroma hall where the shogun returned power to the emperor in 1867.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Himeji Castle
Himeji, Hyogo
Himeji Castle keeps its early-Edo-period form: a white-plastered main keep linked by corridor turrets to three smaller keeps. In 1993 it became one of Japan's first World Heritage Sites, together with Horyu-ji.
Momoyama · Castles · National Treasures
Matsue Castle
Matsue, Shimane
Matsue Castle's keep, one of Japan's five National Treasure castles, is the only surviving four-tiered, five-story keep in the Chugoku region. Look for its two-story-long through pillars and the roof's shachihoko ornament, about 2 m tall and said to be the largest surviving wooden one.