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Hikone Castle (Oumi Province/Shiga Prefecture)
Hikone-jo was built by Naotsugu Ii in the 8th year of Keicho era (1603). The Ii clan is the retainer of the Tokugawa clan and Naomasa, the father of Naotsugu, was assigned to this place after the Battle of Sekigahara. He first set up base in Sawayama-jo and then planned to build a new castle in Hikone 2km away in the west from Sawayama. However, Naomasa passed away shortly and his son, Naotsugu, built the castle. The castle was built on the Mt. Hikone that faces the Lake Biwa, which was convenient for water transportation. At the time of building the castle, architectures from the castles in the vicinity such as Sawayama-jo, Nagahama-jo and Otsu-jo were removed to Hikone and reconstructed there. For example, Nagahama-jo's Otemon was used for the "Tenbin" turret and Otsu-jo's castle tower was removed and reconstructed for Hikone-jo. Daimyos all over Japan were called out for the construction of the castle and consequnetly an enormous castle was built. It is said this was because Ieyasu Tokugawa was on his guard against the Toyotomi clan and ordered the construction of this castle for the purpose of preventing the Toyotomi's forces from advancing to the east.
(2009/5/23 、2013/7/6 、2015/9/26 )
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