Hamamatsu Castle

Hamamatsu Castle (Hamamatsu-jo) was where the founding shogun of the Edo period (1600-1867), Tokugawa Ieyasu, lived for 17 years before he became ruler of Japan. As he lived in the castle during the time when he began a war for the purpose of uniting the whole country, it was also named the Castle of Advancement. Its predecessor was a castle built at the beginning of the 16th century, and this was subsequently repaired and expanded to make Hamamatsu Castle. The size of the castle was roughly 500 m north to south and about 450 m east to west. The existing donjon was rebuilt in 1958. It is a three-tiered, four-storied construction and the top floor is an observatory of about 50 m high, from which visitors can have a commanding view of the Pacific Ocean.