{Inter} Cultural Japan

If you are wondering what to do in Nagoya, a visit to Nagoya Castle might be a good idea. No, it is not an original castle anymore, like that other giant castle of yore, Osaka, the donjon has been lost and rebuilt in concrete, but is still an imposing presence and there is a great garden as well.

[Nagoya Castle]

Nagoya Castle was built in 1610-14 by Tokugawa Ieyasu for his ninth son Yoshinao (1600-1650), on the site of a smaller abandoned castle once occupied by Oda Nobunaga, to ensure the security of the Tokai region in central Japan. Although built on a plain, it was heavily fortified in every direction except the north where a swamp provided natural protection. Nagoya Castle lacked graceful lines and elegance, but its stiffness hid many practical military devices, fit for a Tokugawa Castle in such a strategic location. The stone walls, for example, contained secret rooms for storage of rice and other foods, and there were also wells to help the defenders through a long siege. Just below the first floor windows were hidden crevices, concealed by a thin covering that was painted just like the walls. The stone-throwing windows were also in locations that could not easily be spotted from the outside: they were built under the protruding walls just below the gables, so that they opened under the thick eaves.

The descendants of Tokugawa Yoshinao maintained control of the castle until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and Nagoya grew up at its feet. Unfortunately, that castle exists no longer. The five-story donjon was destroyed during World War II, together with the ceremonial palace which stood in the courtyard of the keep. All that is left of the original castle are three corner turrets and gatehouses, as well as the massive stone walls. The donjon was restored in ferro-concrete and has been fitted out with an elevator like Osaka Castle. It is now a museum showing some items such as roof tiles, maps and a few pieces of armor, but nothing very interesting.

The best things to see are the fusuma screens and wall paintings salvaged from the ceremonial palace. These were painted by members of the Kano school in black and white with faint touches of color. They show Chinese landscapes and scenes from Chinese history (with virtuous rulers and exemplary ministers); birds and flowers; and a tiger. Unfortunately, not many of these screens seem to be on display nowadays (they are apparently being copied for a planned reconstruction of the ceremonial palace). The main items in the museum are of educational value for children, such as a stone of the walls one can pull over wooden rollers to see how easy that is. Nagoya is no match for the excellent exhibition in Osaka Castle. But then, the treasures of the lords of the castle, the Owari Tokugawa, are gathered in the Tokugawa Museum elsewhere in Nagoya. That museum also contains the reconstruction of part of a stateroom and gives a much better impression of the splendor of the Tokugawas.

Something of the old garden still exists in the northern part of the Ninomaru area (this was also the place where the Tokugawas had their normal residence palace). There are artificial hills, huge natural stones, and crooked trees, providing interesting vistas of the castle keep. The people of Nagoya are fond of display, at its time. This is demonstrated by the large wedding halls you can even see from the train when passing through. The castle has its small extravagance in the form of golden shachi, dolphin-like sea creatures, of almost 3 meters high, which rose up from both ends of the roof ridge. The golden ones perished with the castle, but there are replicas firmly in place again, as the proud symbols of the city.

Address: 1-1 Honmaru, Naka-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken. Tel. 052-231-1700
Access: City bus to Nagoyajo-minami; or subway to Shiyakusho Station. 9:30-16:30. Cl. New Year season.