Wakayama Castle, Japanese castle in Wakayama, Japan
Wakayama Castle is a hilltop fortress in Wakayama whose three-story concrete main tower rises above massive stone walls and water-filled moats. The complex includes restored defensive gates, administrative buildings, and a formal garden on the western edge of the inner fortification.
Toyotomi Hidenaga founded the site in 1585 to control the strategic Kii Peninsula and oversee regional trade. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the fortress passed to the Tokugawa family and served as the administrative center of Kishū Province until 1868.
The name derives from Wakanoura Bay, visible from the tower and celebrated in Japanese poetry for centuries. Visitors pass through several gate structures from different periods, their wooden frames and curved roofs showing typical feudal fortification design.
Access to the grounds is free, while entry to the main tower and museum requires a fee. Paths on the castle hill wind through shaded tree lines and can become slippery when wet.
The current main tower dates from 1958 following lightning-strike fire damage, its exterior replicating the original 16th-century design. Inside, modern exhibition rooms display samurai armor, weapons, and historical documents that give visitors a view into feudal Japanese life.
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