Osaka: Castle’s Old Stone Wall to Be Displayed at New Facility; Large Scale Exhibit Allows Visitor to View Historic Construction Techniques

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:03 JST, March 29, 2025

OSAKA — Osaka Castle’s stone wall, constructed during the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a warlord who ruled Japan in the late 16th century, will be on display in Osaka from April 1.

The stone wall will be displayed at a facility called Osaka-jo Toyotomi Ishigaki-kan, which was recently built in the city’s Chuo Ward.

The Toyotomi family was defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1615, and the castle tower was destroyed. It was later rebuilt but the original stone walls were buried underground on the orders of the Tokugawa family. The castle was destroyed again by a lightning strike in 1965, and the current Osaka Castle is the third generation with reinforced concrete.

The stone walls from the Toyotomi period were discovered during excavations in 1984. The Osaka city government decided to build Ishigaki-kan about 100 meters southeast of the castle tower to display part of it. The facility has one floor above ground and one below, with a total area of 786 square meters. The stone wall on display is about 4.5 meters high, allowing visitors to see up close the stone wall construction techniques of the time, in which natural stones of various sizes were piled up.

A ceremony to mark the completion of the facility was held on March 15, where Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama said, “I hope visitors will experience the charm of Osaka Castle, which was the stage for a turning point in Japanese history, and touch the truth of history.”

The facility is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is ¥1,200 for adults, ¥600 for high school and university students, and free for junior high school students and younger.