Takada Castle, Sanju Yagura (Three tiered turret)

Takada Castle (Takada-jo) was built in 1614 as the home base of Matsudaira Tadateru, the sixth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ruled Japan in those days. Its construction was difficult as it required diverting the flow of three rivers, but it was completed less than four months after the work began. It has no stone wall, but is surrounded by breastworks. Neither does it have a donjon, but the three-tiered turret positioned on the south-west side of the castle grounds was its symbol. It has not retained its perfect form due to earthquakes and fire, and the existing three-tiered turret was reconstructed in 1993 based on old pictorial evidence and data from archeological finds. It houses an exhibition room, where old documents relating to this castle and items excavated from archeological digs at the site of the castle are exhibited.The third floor is an observation room. In summer, lotus flowers bloom in abundance, covering the outer moat.