Osaka Castle history
Osaka Castle has been built, buried, rebuilt, burned and rebuilt again. The castle you visit is a 1931 tower standing on Tokugawa walls, on top of Hideyoshi's buried castle.
Osaka Castle in 15 dates
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1583 | Toyotomi Hideyoshi begins building Osaka Castle as his base for ruling Japan. It takes about 15 years, and the castle grounds are four to five times the size of today's |
| 1598 | Hideyoshi dies |
| 1614–1615 | The Siege of Osaka. The castle falls on May 7, 1615, and the Toyotomi family ends |
| 1620 | The Tokugawa begin a new castle, burying Hideyoshi's under about 6 meters of earth |
| 1629 | The Tokugawa rebuilding is completed |
| 1665 | Lightning burns down the Tokugawa main tower. It is never rebuilt |
| 1868 | The last shogun leaves the castle, and it burns on January 9 |
| 1924 | Osaka City opens Otemae Park on army land in front of the castle, the start of today's park |
| 1931 | The present Main Tower is built, proposed by Mayor Seki Hajime and paid for by the people of Osaka. It is the third tower on this spot |
| 1945 | Air raids hit the army sites in and around the castle, worst on August 14, the day before the war ended. Buildings burn and the Main Tower is damaged in places |
| 1953 | 13 surviving Edo-period structures are named Important Cultural Properties |
| 1961 | Hokoku Shrine moves into the castle grounds |
| 1958–1966 | The surviving turrets and storehouses are repaired |
| 1984 | An excavation uncovers a wall of Hideyoshi's castle |
| 1997 | The Main Tower's major repairs bring back its 1931 look. The East Outer Moat, filled in since the 1910s, is dug out and filled with water again |
| 2025 | The Toyotomi Stone Wall Museum opens on April 1 |
Read more
- Who lived in Osaka Castle: the Toyotomi, the shogun's governors, the last shoguns and the army
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Osaka Castle: who lived in the castle, and where to see Hideyoshi today
- Osaka Castle in World War II: bomb damage on the Main Tower base and the army sites around the castle
- The Siege of Osaka (1614–1615): how the Toyotomi fell, and the Sanada Yukimura sites you can visit
- The fall of the shogun (1868): the castle at the end of the samurai era, and Meiji sites nearby
- The stone walls: Tokugawa walls, Hideyoshi's buried walls, and how to read the marks
- Toyotomi Stone Wall Museum: see a wall of Hideyoshi's castle
- Hokoku Shrine: the shrine of Hideyoshi, in front of Sakuramon Gate
- Inside the Main Tower: the museum, floor by floor
Walk past all 13 original Edo-period buildings
Questions
Is Osaka Castle original?
The Main Tower is not. It was rebuilt in concrete in 1931 and is the third tower on the spot. The stone walls and moats in the park date from the Tokugawa rebuilding that began in 1620, and some turrets and gates are original Edo-period buildings.
Who built Osaka Castle?
Toyotomi Hideyoshi built the first castle from 1583. After it fell in 1615, the Tokugawa shogunate buried it and built a new castle on top from 1620.
When was Osaka Castle built?
Toyotomi Hideyoshi began building it in 1583. The Tokugawa rebuilt it from 1620 to 1629, and the present Main Tower was built in 1931.
How old is Osaka Castle?
The first castle was begun in 1583, more than 440 years ago. The stone walls in the park date from the 1620s, and the present Main Tower from 1931.
Written by Kyoya Fujioka. Facts come from the Osaka Castle Museum leaflets and maps of related sites (2026) and the official exhibition page.