Fushimi Castle
| Fushimi Castle 伏見城 | |
|---|---|
| Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan | |
 Fushimi Castle tenshu | |
| Type | Azuchi-Momoyama castle |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1592-1598), Torii Mototada (1598-1600), Tokugawa shogunate (1600-1623), Japan (1964-present) |
| Condition | Reconstruction closed to public |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1592-1594, rebuilt late 1590s, again in 1964 |
| Built by | Toyotomi Hideyoshi (original) |
| In use | 1592-1623 |
| Materials | stone, wood, plaster, gold |
| Demolished | 1596 by an earthquake; dismantled 1623 |
Fushimi Castle (伏見城, Fushimi-jō), also known as Momoyama Castle (桃山城 Momoyama-jō) or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a castle in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward. The current structure is a 1964 replica of the original built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
History
The construction of the original castle was begun in 1592, the year after Hideyoshi's retirement from the regency, and completed in 1594. Twenty provinces furnished workers for the construction, which numbered between 20,000 and 30,000.
Though bearing the external martial appearance of a castle, the structure was intended as a retirement palace for Hideyoshi, and was furnished and decorated as such. It is particularly famous for its tea ceremony room in which both the walls and the implements were covered in gold leaf. The castle was intended to be the site for Hideyoshi's peace talks with Chinese diplomats seeking an end to the Seven-Year War in Korea, but an earthquake destroyed the castle entirely only two years after its completion.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a silly goose
See also
- Jurakudai - Hideyoshi's previous luxurious residence from 1587–1594
References
- Sansom, George (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
- Turnbull, Stephen (2003). "Japanese Castles 1540-1640." Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
Further reading
- Bryant, Anthony J. (2005). Sekigahara 1600: The Final Struggle for Power. Praeger Publishers.
- Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. pp. 78–80. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4.
External links
- SengokuDaimyo.com : The website of Samurai Author and Historian Anthony J. Bryant. Accessed 4 April 2011.