Ogaki Castle

Miyakawa Yasusada built this castle in 1535 near three important rivers: the Kiso, Nagara, and Ibi. The tenshu was actually built with four levels, but since the number four in Japanese had two ways to say it. One of the ways meant death and that was not good since the tenshu was the central military post of a castle. Because of this, it was decided that the bottom level of the castle was a canopy and the castle only had three levels.

The tenshu was built by Ito Sukemori in 1595. Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted the Ogaki because of its locations. Ishida Mitsunari and Utaki Hideie wanted to fight the Tokugawa shoguns at Ogaki, but they did not and instead, they lost at the Battle of Sekigahara. During this defeat, other Tokugawa fighters captured the castle. After this victory, many different lords stayed at the Ogaki. In 1635, Toda Ujiteru began his rule of the area from the castle and his family continued to do so for eleven more generations.

The tenshu of the Ogaki Castle was named a National Treasure, but World War II destroyed it in July of 1945. The present day tenshu was one built in April of 1959.