Okayama Castle

Okayama, Japan, Japan

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Okayama Castle is a prominent Japanese castle in the city of Okayama, distinguished by its black exterior and nicknamed “Crow Castle” (U‑jō) in contrast to the white “Egret Castle” of Himeji, and it was originally completed as a main keep in 1597 under the rule of Ukita Hideie after his father Ukita Naoie had captured the site and begun remodeling it in the 1570s.

The castle was designed under the influence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, used the Asahi River’s branching channels as protective moats to the north and east, and served as the seat of the Okayama Domain during the Edo period under successive lords including the Kobayakawa and, most notably, the Ikeda clan, who presided for over 250 years and built the famous Koraku‑en garden just across the river as their private pleasure garden.

Like many castles, it fell into neglect after the Meiji Restoration, and on 29 June 1945 Allied bombers destroyed the main keep and an adjacent gate, leaving only two small watchtowers and some stone walls standing; the main keep was later reconstructed in concrete in 1966, with later gilding of some rooftop decorations and a major “Reiwa Great Renovation” finished on 3 November 2022 that reimagined the interior as a museum and event space to convey the castle’s history and attract visitors.