Kishiwada Castle

Kishiwada, Japan, Japan

---

Kishiwada Castle is a historic Japanese castle located in Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture, famously positioned as the castle closest to the world because it sits just across the bay from Kansai International Airport.

Originally built around 1334 by a general in the army of the legendary Kusunoki Masashige, the castle was later rebuilt and expanded in the 16th century under Toyotomi Hideyoshi to help monitor unrest in the Wakayama region to the south, and during the Edo period it served as the residence of the Okabe clan, who ruled the area for many generations.

The original five-story castle tower was destroyed by lightning in 1827, and the present three-story concrete structure was reconstructed in 1954 as a museum that displays local history, artifacts, and a scale model of the Edo-period town, while offering good views over the castle grounds and surrounding area from its upper floors.

In front of the castle tower is Hachijin Garden, a carefully designed rock and sand garden by landscape architect Mirei Shigemori that has been designated as a site of National Scenic Beauty; its white sand patterns represent the former layout of the castle, and its arrangement of stones symbolizes the eight battle formations of the famous Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang.