Zeze Castle, Water castle in Otsu, Japan
Zeze Castle is a water castle in Otsu situated along the shores of Lake Biwa, with stone walls that once ran along the waterfront. Today the castle grounds are accessible to the public, though some original buildings were relocated to nearby shrines over the centuries.
The castle was built in 1601 under orders from Tokugawa Ieyasu as the first state-commissioned construction project to defend Kyoto from the east. It served as a crucial military post during the early years of the Edo period.
The castle grounds have become a public park where visitors can see remains from the Edo period, including stone foundations and sections of the moat. These physical traces help people understand how the fortification was built and defended.
The site is easy to reach on foot from Zeze-Honmachi Station in about 8 minutes along the Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto Line. The park grounds are open to the public and can be explored freely at your own pace.
Three original buildings from the castle have survived in an unusual way by being relocated to nearby shrines. The main gate stands at Zeze Shrine, the north gate at Shinodzu Shrine, and the south gate at Muchinosaki Shrine.
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