Yodo Castle, Japanese castle in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Yodo Castle is a Japanese castle in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, whose stone walls and inner moat remain at the meeting point of the Uji and Katsura rivers. The remains show steep ramps built from stacked stones and water channels that surround the site and controlled access.
Matsudaira Sadatsuna built the castle in 1623 under orders from Tokugawa Hidetada, reusing materials from the former Fushimi Castle. The site was established in the early Edo period and served as a base for the shogunate in the Kyoto region.
The name of the castle appears often linked to the rivers that meet here and continue to shape the landscape today. Visitors see in the walls how water served as natural protection and how the fortress was woven into the terrain.
The site lies about four minutes on foot from Yodo Station on the Keihan line and is easy to reach by walking. The ruins are open to the public and sit in a quiet neighborhood along the river.
Two large waterwheels measuring 16 meters across were once installed on the western and northern sides of the compound. These wheels likely supplied water and show the technical effort behind the defense system.
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