Osaka Castle Park
The construction of Osaka Castle (大阪城,
Ōsakajō) started in 1583 on the former site of the Ishiyama
Honganji Temple, which had been destroyed by Oda Nobunaga
thirteen years earlier. Toyotomi Hideyoshiintended the castle to
become the center of a new, unified Japan under Toyotomi rule.
It was the largest castle at the time.
However, a few years after Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa troops
attacked and destroyed the castle and terminated the Toyotomi
lineage in 1615. Osaka Castle was rebuilt by Tokugawa Hidetada
in the 1620s, but its main castle tower was struck by lightening
in 1665 and burnt down.
It was not until 1931 that the present ferro-concrete
reconstruction of the castle tower was built. During the war it
miraculously survived the city wide air raids. Major repair
works gave the castle new glamor in 1997. The castle tower is
now entirely modern on the inside and even features an elevator
for easier accessibility. It houses an informative museum about
the castle's history and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.