Jcastle.info

Guide to Japanese Castles

Okayama Castle

岡山城

main keep
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Alternate Name U-jo, Kin'u-jo
Founder Ukita Hideie
Year 1597
Reconstructed 1965 (concrete)
Type Hilltop
Structure 3 level, 6 stories
Condition Reconstructed
Admin's Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Historical Site National Historic Site
Historical Value Top 100 Castles, Important Cultural Properties
Historical Artifacts Important Cultural Properties:
Nishonomaru Nishite Yagura, Tsukimi Yagura
Location Okayama, Okayama Pref.
Map Google Map
Access Okayama Sta. (San'yo Line); 20 min walk, 10 min bus
Website Okayama Castle Official Homepage
Visited November 14, 2009
Notes Okayama Castle has such a unique shape that every angle you gives you a unique view. That's why I have so many pictures of the main keep. There is also another yagura that is an Important Cultural Property located on the grounds of a nearby school. I tried to find it but it looked like there was no public way on to the school grounds and the gates were closed.
History Ukita Naoie began construction of the castle in 1573 but it was not completed until 1597 by his son Hideie. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Kobayakawa Hideaki was given control of the castle but he died just two years later. Ikeda Terumasa's second son, Ikeda Tadatsugu (a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu), became the new lord of the castle. The Ikeda family continued to rule until the Meiji Period. This was another one of the great castles of the Edo Period but was unfortunately destroyed in the air raids of 1945.
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(4) | Post Comment
  • Raymond W.    December 02, 2009 at 08:22 PM
    You have posted up some nice photos. I have only been to Okayama Castle in the summer and winter. It looks like autumn is a good time to go, too. Maybe next autumn... As Furinkazan has said, the outside looks better than in the inside, but for a concrete reconstruction, the people responsible did try to make an effort to incorporate a little bit of wood inside which is more than I can say about some other reconstructed castles in Japan.
  • furinkazan    August 04, 2009 at 02:18 AM
    I went there in april 2004. The castle is very beautiful from the outside, but is a concrete reconstruction with elevators inside. The museum inside is otherwise very interesting.
  • Raymond    August 07, 2008 at 05:01 PM
    This is a fabulous castle to visit. Great museum inside, photogenic exterior, and easy access from Okayama Station and can be done on a long day trip from Osaka or Kyoto. A combined ticket to both the castle and Korakuen Garden cost 520yen. If you want some nice piccies of the castle, make sure you walk across the white suspension bridge to the Korakuen Garden. Walk past the South Gate to the garden and go along the riverbank for some top notch photos of the river and castle. Then head into Korakuen to enjoy the garden and get more photos of the castle with the garden and one of the ponds in the foreground. I wonder how much of this castle's (and other castles') original construction was influenced by the Korean wa-jos during the six year occupation of southern Korea.
  • Kian    March 27, 2008 at 03:26 AM
    Woah, that castle is awesome!!!! And the color scheme is really good. I'm actually researching this because I'm building a smaller model of it for my Ancient Civilizations Class. This website was really helpful in this study. Many thanks!!!!