Osaka Castle...
Apr 8, 2023 13:23:36 #
I visited the Osaka Castle in Osaka Japan in 1992.
Construction of the original castle was finished in 1597. It was constructed entirely of wood and there were no nails or metal fasteners used, it was all held together using joined timbers and dowels. However, over the years the original castle had been destroyed several times, mostly by fire as a result of war or other calamities, like once when it was struck by lightening and most of it burned to the ground. The last major damage was during WWII when an arsenal located near the castle was bombed and gunpowder that was being stored there exploded destroying a large portion of the wooden structure. However, after each of these incidents, the castle was rebuilt from scratch, using the original techniques, restoring it to its original condition, down to the last timber joint and dowel. When I was there in 1992, and we climbed to the top floor (it's five stories tall on the outside, but eight on the inside), you could see how it was constructed and how there was no evidence of any metal fasteners or non-wood reinforcements.
Since it had been about 50 years since the last renovation, when I was there we were told that within the next few years, the castle was going to be taken down and rebuilt again. Now it appeared to be in good condition, but the people we talked to said that it really did need a lot of work.
Note that I just looked at the Wikipedia article about the castle and it appears that the local authorities decided that rebuilding the castle every 50 years or so, which had been done something like six or seven times over the centuries due to those various calamities which struck the castle, that this was just costing them way too much money. So, the decision was made to forego restoring it to its original condition and in 1997 the wooden castle was taken down and replaced with a 100% replica except that it was constructed using reinforced concrete, but to the untrained eye, it still looks just like it has for the last 400 years. And since the castle had become one of the most visited attractions in the city, they decided to install an elevator, which would have been nice when I visited there in 1992, although the view from the top floor was worth the climb, as seen below:
Construction of the original castle was finished in 1597. It was constructed entirely of wood and there were no nails or metal fasteners used, it was all held together using joined timbers and dowels. However, over the years the original castle had been destroyed several times, mostly by fire as a result of war or other calamities, like once when it was struck by lightening and most of it burned to the ground. The last major damage was during WWII when an arsenal located near the castle was bombed and gunpowder that was being stored there exploded destroying a large portion of the wooden structure. However, after each of these incidents, the castle was rebuilt from scratch, using the original techniques, restoring it to its original condition, down to the last timber joint and dowel. When I was there in 1992, and we climbed to the top floor (it's five stories tall on the outside, but eight on the inside), you could see how it was constructed and how there was no evidence of any metal fasteners or non-wood reinforcements.
Since it had been about 50 years since the last renovation, when I was there we were told that within the next few years, the castle was going to be taken down and rebuilt again. Now it appeared to be in good condition, but the people we talked to said that it really did need a lot of work.
Note that I just looked at the Wikipedia article about the castle and it appears that the local authorities decided that rebuilding the castle every 50 years or so, which had been done something like six or seven times over the centuries due to those various calamities which struck the castle, that this was just costing them way too much money. So, the decision was made to forego restoring it to its original condition and in 1997 the wooden castle was taken down and replaced with a 100% replica except that it was constructed using reinforced concrete, but to the untrained eye, it still looks just like it has for the last 400 years. And since the castle had become one of the most visited attractions in the city, they decided to install an elevator, which would have been nice when I visited there in 1992, although the view from the top floor was worth the climb, as seen below:
Osaka Castle - June 1992 - Minolta XG-M, 35mm
A view of the surrounding grounds, with a portion of the old arsenal on the left side of the frame - June 1992 - Minolta XG-M, 35mm
Another view from the top floor of the castle where you can see a portion of the mote that surrounds the castle - June 1992 - Minolta XG-M, 35mm
Apr 8, 2023 13:44:11 #
Apr 8, 2023 14:14:15 #
Apr 8, 2023 14:19:57 #
Ghery wrote:
I was there in 2008. An interesting city.
Did you visit the castle?
Apr 8, 2023 14:24:12 #
OldCADuser wrote:
Did you visit the castle?
Yes, I did. When I was not in meetings.
Apr 9, 2023 11:25:26 #
Apr 9, 2023 15:09:25 #
Nice looking castle. Too bad they Disneyfied it. Instead, they should have set up a nonprofit foundation to raise money for future renovations. Japan has many multibillion dollar companies that could have donated to save such a historical treasure.
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