Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城, Tsuru-ga-jō), also known as Aizuwakamatsu Castle (会津若松城 Aizu-Wakamatsu-jō) is a Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture.
Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城, Tsuru-ga-jō), also known as Aizuwakamatsu Castle (会津若松城 Aizu-Wakamatsu-jō) is a Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture.
The National Treasure (国宝, kokuhō) refers to Tangible Cultural Properties designated by Japanese law as: “having exceptionally high value”. It applies to buildings, artworks, and crafts; selected from Important Tangible Cultural Properties by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). A Tangible Cultural Property is considered to be of historic or of artistic value, classified either as buildings and structures or as fine-arts and crafts. Each National Treasure must demonstrate outstanding workmanship, high value for world cultural history, or exceptional value for scholarship.
Approximately 20% of the National Treasures are structures such as castles, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, or residences. The remaining 80% include paintings, scrolls, sutras, calligraphy, sculptures in wood, bronze, lacquer or stone, as well as crafts such as pottery, lacquerware, metalworks, swords, textiles, and archaeological artifacts. The items span the period from ancient to early modern Japan before the Meiji period, including pieces of the world's oldest pottery from the Jōmon period and 19th-century documents and writings. The designation of the Akasaka Palace in 2009, the Tomioka Silk Mill in 2014, and the Kaichi School added three modern, post-Meiji Restoration National Treasures.
Fushimi Castle (伏見城, Fushimi-jō), also known as Momoyama Castle (桃山城, Momoyama-jō) or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residence. Fushimi Castle was destroyed in the 1596 Keichō–Fushimi earthquake and rebuilt before eventually being demolished in 1623 and its site later used for the tomb of Emperor Meiji. The current Fushimi Castle is a replica constructed in 1964 near the original site in Fushimi.
Shimabara Castle (島原城, Shimabara-jō), also known as Moritake Castle (森岳城, Moritake-jō) and Takaki Castle (高来城, Takaki-jō), is a Japanese castle located in Shimabara, Hizen Province (present day Nagasaki prefecture). This five-story white building stands in stark contrast to the black Kumamoto Castle in neighboring Kumamoto Prefecture.
The Hara Castle (原城, Hara-jō) was a Sengoku period Japanese castle cemetery located in the Minami-Arima neighbourhood of city of Minamishimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture Japan. Its ruins were designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1938.
Hagi Castle (萩城, Hagi-jō) is a Japanese castle located in the city of Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in the San'yō region of Japan. Built in 1604 at the beginning of the Edo period as the main castle of the Mōri clan, it served as the seat of the Chōshū Domain for over 250 years until 1863. It was demolished in 1874 shortly after the Meiji Restoration. Its ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 1924. Hagi Castle has been designed as a component of the Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining, which received UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2015.
Kagoshima Castle (鹿児島城, Kagoshima-jō) was an Edo period flatland-style Japanese castle located in the city of Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 2023. Kagoshima Castle was listed as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.). It is more popular known in Kagoshima as Tsurumaru Castle (鶴丸城)
Kōchi Prefecture (高知県, Kōchi-ken; Japanese pronunciation: [koꜜː.tɕi, koː.tɕi̥ꜜ.keɴ], locally [koː.tɕi]) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tokushima Prefecture to the northeast.
Kōchi is the capital and largest city of Kōchi Prefecture, with other major cities including Nankoku, Shimanto, and Kōnan. Kōchi Prefecture is located on Japan's Pacific coast surrounding a large bay in the south of Shikoku, with the southernmost point of the island located at Cape Ashizuri in Tosashimizu. Kōchi Prefecture is home to Kōchi Castle, considered the most intact Japanese castle, and the Shimanto River, one of the few undammed rivers in Japan.
Kōchi Castle (高知城, Kōchi-jō) is an Edo Period Japanese castle in the city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is located at Otakayama hill, at the center of Kōchi city, which in turn is located at the center of the Kōchi Plain, the most prosperous area of former Tosa Province on the island of Shikoku. From 1601 to 1871, it was the center of Tosa Domain, ruled by the tozama Yamauchi clan under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The castle site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 1959, with the area under protection expanded in 2014.
Himeji Castle (姫路城, Himeji-jō; [çimeʑiꜜʑoː] ) is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in Himeji, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō ("White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.
As with almost all Japanese castles from the Azuchi-Momoyama period onward, the tenshu (天守, main keep), the most prominent structure, was used as a storehouse in times of peace and as a fortified tower in times of war, and the daimyo (大名, feudal lord)'s government offices and residences were located in a group of single-story buildings near the tenshu and the surrounding yagura (櫓, turrets).