is a castle located in the city of Ōgaki

Ogaki, Gifu

is a city located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It was incorporated as a city on April 1, 1918. As of July 2011, the city has an estimated population of 160,999 and a total area of .Ōgaki was the final destination for the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō...

, Gifu Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Other names for the castle include Bi Castle (麇城 Bi-jō) and Kyoroku Castle (巨鹿城 Kyoroku-jō).

History

When the castle was originally built, it had four levels and four different kinds of moats. In the late 16th century, however, Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

 realized the strategic location of the castle and further strengthened it by building the donjon. Due to the historical importance of the castle, including its role in the Battle of Sekigahara

Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

 in 1600, the donjon was designated a National Treasure in 1936.

Present day

In 1945, the keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

 and the rest of the castle was destroyed during air raids in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

; it was rebuilt in 1959. The current castle is a replica of the keep and the inside serves as a museum to artifacts from the Battle of Sekigahara

Battle of Sekigahara

The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

in 1600.

External links

• Photos with detailed descriptions