Hikone Castle ｜ Kiroherus interests

In May 2024, I went to Hikone Castle.

What is Hikone Castle?

Hikone Castle is located in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture. It is also designated as a national treasure of Japan.

Hikone Castle perched on a mailbox in the town

This castle was used as the government office of the Hikone Domain during the Edo Period.

I’m not very knowledgeable about history, so I don’t really understand what Hikone Domain is, but it seems it was ruled by the Ii family, who were fudai daimyo.Fudai daimyo are the forces that served Tokugawa Ieyasu even before the Battle of Sekigahara.

This is the Ii family of “Ii Naosuke” who appears in Japanese history.Ii Naotora, who was featured in the NHK historical drama “Onna Joushu Naotora” in 2016, is said to be the female head of this Ii family. It is not clear whether she is a real person or not.

Most castles were demolished under the castle abolition order after the Meiji period, but Hikone Castle escaped this and has been preserved as it is.Therefore, unlike castles that were rebuilt after the war, it is one of the few castles that have been preserved as they were at the time.

The castle tower, attached turrets, and Tamon turrets have been designated national treasures, and the castle ruins are a special historic site.

Hikone Castle is known as a famous castle that combines beauty with high military functionality.

I had never really paid attention to Hikone Castle until Hikonyan appeared.I only knew that Nagahama Castle was nearby from the Koei Tecmo PC game “Taikou Risshiden” that I used to play a long time ago, but when I looked into it before going on a family trip, I found out that materials from Nagahama Castle when it was abandoned were used to build Hikone Castle.

This was a bit of a surprise.If you think about it, it takes a huge amount of materials to build a castle, so it seems logical to reuse materials from castles that are no longer in use, and I was very intrigued.

I tried climbing the castle tower

I’m not a castle buff, but I try to climb castles I visit on my travels.I’d be happy if the castles remained as they were, but it’s a shame that they were all rebuilt after the Pacific War.And this time, when I climbed the castle tower, I was frightened by the steep angle of the stairs.I think it was about 60 degrees, but going up and down felt like going up and down a ladder.

Come to think of it, I have a distant memory of the stairs in old tenement houses being steep as well…
It may have been intended to reduce the dead space of the stairs, but since they’re so difficult to climb, perhaps they were made to repel attacks? It got me thinking.

Hikone Castle was built on flat ground (or more accurately, a hill), so it’s not particularly high in altitude, but the view was great, with Lake Biwa visible in the distance. It is a castle, after all.There are more than 50 buildings within the castle,including the castle tower, which is designated as a national treasure, and the turrets and gates, which are designated as important cultural properties.

Hikone Castle is a place where you can learn about Japanese history and culture. I enjoyed the historical exhibits.

Hikonyan

Hikojine Castle has a mascot character called “Hikonyan.”

Hikonyan

I love Kumamon, the mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, but I also met his rival, Hikonyan.

I don’t know if my kids knew about Hikonyan, but it seems he blended in with the crowd and was at the front of the event. Kirohel doesn’t like crowds, so he stayed away from them and watched from the back.

On the day I visited Hikone Castle, there were three events in one day.
In front of the museum and other facilities that tourists tend to visit.

I didn’t get a photo, but there was a small electric car that was specially made for Hikonyan. It was designed with the red armor of samurai warriors ”Akazonae” in mind.I doubted he’d be able to ride in it with his head that big, but I wanted to have a look.

Photo Collection

I saw the post box on my way from the Hikone Castle parking lot to the castle grounds.You can feel the love that local people have for Hikone Castle.Although it is a paid park, it is also a quiet park and seems to be used as a place to relax, with local residents (probably) reading books on the benches.

Although I don’t include any photos, there is a shopping street near Hikone Castle, and I really enjoyed getting the feeling of strolling through a castle town.

We were blessed with good weather, so the view from the castle was great, Lake Biwa felt close, and it was pleasant to walk among the well-maintained gardens and trees.