Okayama Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture d'Okayama

Standing on the banks of the Asahi River in the heart of Okayama city, Okayama Castle owes its nickname "U-jō", the Crow Castle, to the dark appearance of its keep, clad in black-lacquered boards. Before the Battle of Sekigahara some of its roof tiles were gilded, which also earned it the name "Golden Crow Castle". The site, occupied since the 14th century, was turned into a true stronghold by Ukita Naoie from 1570 onwards, and then by his son Ukita Hideie, one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Five Elders, who completed the keep in 1597. The keep is unusual in resting on an irregular pentagonal plan that follows the shape of the hill. Destroyed in the bombing of June 1945, it was rebuilt in concrete in 1966, then fully renovated and reopened in November 2022. Two original turrets, including the Tsukimi turret, survived and are designated Important Cultural Properties. Facing the castle across the river lies the Kōraku-en garden, created by the Ikeda lords who governed the castle until the end of the Edo period.