Kochi Castle

Kazutoyo Yamanoshi built this castle on a 42 meter hill in the middle of Kochi City in 1603. It remained in the possession of the Yamanoshi family until 1869, when the Emperor Meiji took over the lands it was located on. During this time, political disorder was at its worst, so Yamanoshi knew he needed a strong castle. He built in huge wooden doors with iron frames and windows in the gates so he could defend his castle from inside without letting his enemies see him.

In 1707, a earthquake did some severe damage to the Kochi Castle and just five years later, a fire almost destroyed the whole castle. In 1729, the original tenshu of the castle from 1603 was burned down. The new tenshu of the castle was completed in 1747 and was an exact copy of the original. Its design was similar to that of the Inuyama Castle. Since the tenshu was a military post, a strategy to trick attackers was used in its construction. From the outside, it would seem as if there were only 3 floors, but actually, there were 6 floors inside.