Nagoya Castle

名古屋城

This grand castle, built on Tokugawa Ieyasu's orders, features a keep crowned with golden shachihoko and a restored Honmaru Palace. Its moat in cherry blossom season is Nagoya's signature scene.

Nagoya Castle was ordered built by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1610, with construction assisted by twenty daimyo, including Kato Kiyomasa. It was the home castle of the Owari branch of the Tokugawa clan and, together with Osaka Castle and Kumamoto Castle, is counted among Japan's three great castles. The keep burned down in an air raid in 1945 and was rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1959. The pair of golden shachihoko (golden tiger-headed, fish-shaped roof ornaments) are Nagoya's symbol. The keep is about 48 meters tall with five stories. Because of earthquake safety concerns, visitors have not been allowed to climb it since 2018, and a wooden reconstruction is being planned, though no completion date has been set. The must-see today is the Honmaru Palace, a residence of the Owari domain lords. Reconstructed in 2018 after ten years of work using hinoki cypress and traditional methods, based on Edo-period drawings and photographs, it features an entrance hall, the Omote Shoin, the Taimenjo and the Jorakuden. Its gilded wall paintings (in the Kano school style, with tigers, leopards, flowers and birds) and ornately carved transom panels are stunning. It is the most important wooden reconstruction project in Japan in recent years. Shoes must be removed to enter, and entry is controlled with queues. You can also see the Southwest and Southeast Turrets (Important Cultural Properties), the Ninomaru Garden, and the Nishinomaru Ogura Treasure Hall, which displays original wall paintings from the former Honmaru Palace. Outside the main gate, Kinshachi Yokocho is a food street serving Nagoya meshi, open in the evening in the Soshun ward. Admission is 500 yen (Honmaru Palace included). Access: a five-minute walk from Exit 7 of Nagoya Castle Station (formerly Shiyakusho Station) on the Meijo Subway Line. The Me~guru sightseeing bus also stops here. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. Note: tripods and flash are prohibited in the Honmaru Palace, and entry is timed when it's crowded. During cherry blossom season (about 1,000 trees), crowds are heavy, so arriving when the gates open is best. Every summer, the Nagoya Castle Summer Festival and Bon dance take place.

Nagoya Castle

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