Odawara Castle

Odawara Castle (Odawara-jo) was transformed into a large-scale structure in 1495 by the daimyo Hojo Soun, who carried out a major refurbishment of a comparatively simple structure surrounded by a mound. After that, it became the castle of generations of the Hojo family, but after it was surrendered to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century, it changed hands time and time again because of war. It was demolished in the latter half of the 19th century when political power changed from the Edo shogunate to the Meiji government and it was condemned as the symbol of samurai. It was reconstructed in 1960. It is a fine three-tiered, five-storied donjon, the top floor of which is an observatory. The moat and stone wall remain as they were in olden times.