Ok, time to complete the last leg of my Nihon trip before the year ends. Oops.

The moat water was glittering in the sunlight, and the castle rose quietly into view – Osaka Castle.

On our last full day in Nihon, sister and I planned for Osaka Castle for the morning and then the famed Universal Studios for the latter half of the day.

The customary pose at stations.

There were all these makeshift stalls once we exited the station. Hundreds of girls were headed to the stadium [nearby Osaka Castle apparently] for a performance. Sister and I excitedly went to see who were performing, hoping that it’ll be SMAP or somebody famous, but it turned out to be a boyband called.. err.. Boyz. Who the heck are they?!

The band’s stuff.

On the way to the castle. We had to walk through this big sandy place and people were playing frisbee there.

I was dawdling around and taking my time to get to Osaka Castle. Methinks it was due to the glorious weather and how I knew my holiday was coming to an end soon and had that perhaps-if-I-drag-things-time-will-drag-slowly-too theory.

Huge-ass dogs.

Osaka Castle played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. It was built on two raised platforms of landfill supported by walls of cut rock, each overlooking a moat.

One part of the moat.

More parts of the moat.

Sister looking really cute and way-too-happy with the birds.

The main tower has five stories on the outside, and three extra stories underground.

A guard of sorts.

Under the command of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a territorial lord, Osaka Castle was constructed from 1583 – 1598. He passed away soon after, leaving the castle to his son, Toyotomi Hideyori.

Osaka Castle’s territory.

In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated Hideyori’s armies at the Battle of Sakigahara [The Realm Divide]. 

There was a silk screen pictorial depiction of the Battle in Osaka Castle itself. Sister and I watched, transfixed, by the story and though morbid at times, it piqued my interest about the strategy of war.

In 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu attacked Toyotomi Hideyori, triggering off the Winter Siege of Osaka. For about a month, the Toyotomi Forces, consisting of about 100,000 soldiers, held Osaka Castle and defended the castle from the attack of the Tokugawa Forces, consisting of 200,000 soldiers. Tokugawa then filled up the castle’s outer moat for his army to enter the castle, rendering it largely defenseless.

A long climb up to Osaka-jo.

During the summer in 1615, Toyotomi began to dig the outer moat to restore the castle. Tokugawa, however, regarded it as rearmament and sent his armies to Osaka Castle again. Osaka-jo fell to Tokugawa, and the Toyotomi clan perished.

The new heir to the shogunate, Tokugawa Hidetada, reconstructed and rearmed Osaka Castle in 1620. The walls built in the 1620s still stand today, and are made out of interlocked granite boulders with no mortar whatsoever; they are held together solely by each other.

For more information on Osaka Castle, please see here.

Like the Studio Ghibli museum, we were not allowed to take any photos in the castle, which was a pity because the explanation on the war was very fascinating [especially the bit about how Tokugawa came up with such a 'foolproof' plan to topple the Toyotomi clan]. I can’t recall all the details, so am not writing it here.

The view from the top.

The moat from the castle out.

Sister and I spent a long time at the castle. Surprising, considering how little interest we have in war. T’was an interesting lesson indeed!

At back of the castle near the exit, there were different costumes for rental. These two little kiddos were so kawaii! Fei fei, pang pang!

The last samurai?

One last sorta close look at the castle and the interlocking granite boulders.

We were leaving the premises [in a hurry] when I caught the birds settling down on the rooftop. Each bird filled in the spaces available as if they were playing some kinda game. Ha..

There are.. *sings* 100 bottles standing on the wall… *slap self* pretty birds all in a row..

I would have captured the ‘perfect’ picture of all the birds in a row, but sister was hurrying me like there was no tomorrow [which, technically, was true since it was our last full day in Nihon then]!

Onwards to our adventure at Universal Studios!

More Nihon reads:

The Amazing Race [Nihon Version]
Meet The Katenas
Let’s Become Lost Children Together
Disneysea Part I
Disneysea Part II
Tokyo Misadventures
Appletown
City of Lights
Snow is a Happy Pill
You Light Up My Life
Spring in Winter
Visiting Traditional Kyoto
Roommates from Insertchoicewordhere
Holiday ‘Romance’ in Osaka