Local trains in Wakayama Prefecture (Wakayama Electric Railway)
Local trains in Wakayama Prefecture (Wakayama Electric Railway) Table of contents 1: Wakayama Castle 2: Chohoji Temple 3: Ide Shoten 4: Wakayama Electric Railway 5: Itakiso Shrine 6: Nichizengu Shrine 7: Dinner 1: Wakayama Castle I traveled to Wakayama in late May. My first stop was Wakayama Castle. Wakayama Castle was built in 1585 by Toyotomi Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. At the time of construction, Hidenaga’s vassal, Todo Takatora, served in charge of the building. Takatora Todo was a master castle builder who built many castles, including Edo Castle, Uwajima Castle (12 existing castle towers), and Imabari Castle. Wakayama Castle was the residence of the Kishu Tokugawa family, one of the three Tokugawa families. After the Meiji Restoration (1871), the castle tower and other buildings were maintained and designated national treasures when the castle was closed down. However, the castle tower and all other buildings designated as national treasures were destroyed by fire in the Wakayama Air Raid of 1945. The current keep was reconstructed externally in reinforced concrete in 1958. Wakayama Castle has a large castle tower, a small castle tower, and turrets arranged on four sides and connected by a series of turrets (renritsu-shiki).