Later History
After the Meiji Restoration, Ogaki Castle was abandoned and almost all the buildings of the castle were demolished. A lot of moats were also reclaimed except the Outer Moat called Suimon-gawa River. They were turned into the city area.
Only the Main Tower and two turrets at the Main Enclosure remained. Especially, the external design of the Main Tower was used when the Main Tower of Gujo-Hachiman Castle was rebuilt in 1933.
However, those of Ogaki Castle were unfortunately burned down by the Ogaki Air Raid in 1945. After World War II, they were externally restored in 1967 using the design of the original ones and Gujo-Hachiman Castle instead.
Features
Around Main Tower as Ogaki Park
The map around the castleToday, only around the Main and Second Enclosures remained as the Ogaki Park. Part around the Second Enclosure is a normal park and the Main Enclosure has a historical atmosphere. No moats unfortunately remained around the enclosure while the roads around it are probably the former moats.
It has two gates, the Western Gate was built in the present time, and the Eastern Gate is the original, but was moved from another place which was once called Yanagikuchi-mon Gate. There are also the externally restored Inui and Ushitorra Turrets alongside the gates.
The restored four-level Main Tower is inside the enclosure, which is actually a modern building and used as a historical museum.
To be continued in “Ogaki Castle Part3”
Back to “Ogaki Castle Part1”