Marugame Castle

photo by Naokijp · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by Naokijp · CC BY-SA 4.0

Walls 60 metres high in four tiers, the tallest in Japan; original tenshu from 1660.

The stone walls rise in four terraces to a total of 60 metres: added together, they are the tallest in Japan, although the tallest single wall is still the one in Osaka. The three-storey tenshu is one of the twelve originals remaining in Japan, and this is one of only three castles (with Hirosaki and Kōchi) that preserve their original keep and entrance gates.

A fortress founded in 1597 by Ikoma Chikamasa, it was dismantled at the beginning of the seventeenth century under the shogunate's edict against two castles in one province, and then rebuilt by the Kyōgoku clan in the middle of the century: the present three-storey tenshu dates from 1660. The tenshu (designated in 1950) and the two Ōte gates (designated in 1957) are national Important Cultural Properties; the castle is one of the 100 Famous Castles of Japan.

ℹ️ The keep is open 9:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00), all year round except for maintenance or weather warnings. Ticket 400 yen adults, free up to junior high; 20% discount for groups of 20+; free for Marugame residents over 65 and for people with disabilities and a companion. 15 minutes' walk from JR Marugame Station.

🚉 Marugame · 18 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · city.marugame.lg.jp · city.marugame.lg.jp · oshiro-fes.com

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