Kōchi Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Kōchi Castle overlooks the city of Kōchi, on the south coast of Shikoku, from Ōtakasa hill. It is the only castle in Japan to retain both its original keep and its honmaru palace, the residence where the lord received guests; it is also the only one in which every building of the main enclosure has survived. Fifteen of its structures are designated Important Cultural Properties. Founded between 1601 and 1611 by Yamauchi Kazutoyo, the new lord of Tosa after the Chōsokabe defeat at Sekigahara, it was ravaged by fire in 1727; the keep was rebuilt in 1747 and the rest of the honmaru completed in 1753 following the original design. Tradition holds that the keep, with the appearance of four roof tiers, echoes Kakegawa Castle, where Kazutoyo had lived. It retains a rare anti-intrusion device: iron spikes (shinobi-gaeshi) fixed beneath the walls. The surrounding park features statues of Kazutoyo, his wife Chiyo and the statesman Itagaki Taisuke.