Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle (大坂城 or 大阪城) is a Japanese castle located in the city of Osaka, and one of Japan's most famous landmarks.

History[edit | edit source]

In 1582, while the castle was still under construction, the Kakushiba ikki members Fujibayashi Naoe and Yasuke infiltrated its grounds, eliminated three samurai daisho, and looted the Peasant Clothes from the castle's treasure chest. They also climbed atop the tenshu to oversee the land,^[1] and recovered one of Kanō Eitoku's paintings so they could return it to the artist.^[2]

Commissioned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi,^[3] the castle's keep was completed in 1583, and the rest of the fortress was completed in 1588. After Hideyoshi's death, his son Hideyori, wife Yodo-gimi, and their immediate relatives settled into the castle. By 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu promised an income to the Toyotomi clan but, as time passed, relations soured. From 1614 to 1615, Ieyasu led a siege of the castle, effectively ending the Toyotomi clan. In 1620, the castle was reconstructed and came under the Tokugawa shogunate's control.^[4]