Database: Azuchi Castle

Azuchi Castle was built between 1576 and 1579 by Oda Nobunaga, 199 meters above the eastern shore of Lake Biwa on Azuchi Hill (the castle's namesake). Nobunaga lived there from 1579 until his betrayal and death in 1582 and designed it to be the most imposing of its time. Its design was an impressive combination of plain and mountain castles, including a thirty-two meter main donjon, the first such structure of its kind in Japan. This tower stood above an enclosure of massive stone blocks. It was surrounded by the residences of Nobunaga's vassals, who were arranged along the slopes in order of importance, with the highest-ranking vassals living closest to the castle. Below, Nobunaga attracted merchants and craftspeople by decreeing the area as "free markets" (rakuichi) and a town of a few thousand people developed.

Within the enclosure where Nobunaga and his close circle lived, the partitions and sliding doors were decorated with paintings by the best artists of his time, notably, Kanō Eitoku. The castle was located about fifty kilometers from the capital, in the heart of in the heart of [sic] a strategic region facing Echizen that was agriculturally prosperous and well-suited for trade. After Nobunaga's downfall, the castle was burned to the ground for unknown reasons, and by the end of the 20th century, only ruins remained. From 1989 forward, surveys, archaeological excavations, and restorations have been carried out in an attempt to picture what this formidable fortress was like in its prime.