Okayama Castle

All you want to know about Okayama Castle

Okayama Castle 岡山城
Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Donjon Tower
Type	Azuchi-Momoyama castle
Built	1346-1369; major expansions 1590-1597
Built by	Nawa clan (original); Ukita Hideie (1590) Kobayakawa Hideaki (1600)
Construction materials	Wood, stone, plaster, tile
In use	1346-1869
Current condition	Largely intact, restoration work begun in 1964
Controlled by	Nawa clan (1346-unknown),Kanamitu clan (1521-1528),Ukita clan (1570-1600),Kobayakawa clan (1600-1602),Ikeda clan (1602-1869),Japan (1869-present)

An aerial view of Okayama Castle

Okayama Castle (岡山城 Okayama-jō) is a castle in the city of Okayama in Okayama Prefecture in Japan.

It is popularly known as Crow Castle (鳥城 U-jō), so named because unlike every other castle in the country (except Matsumoto's, which shares the nickname) it has been painted a striking black, with only a few protruding bits and the occasional lucky fish-gargoyle (金鯱 kinshachi) gilded.

It was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in 1966.

Literature

Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co.. ISBN 0-8084-1102-4.
Motoo, Hinago (1986). Japanese Castles. Tokyo: Kodansha, 200 pages. ISBN 0-87011-766-1.