- Hikone Castle
nihongo|Hikone Castle|彦根城|Hikone-jō is the most famous historical site in Hikone,
Shiga Prefecture ,Japan . ThisEdo period castle traces its origin to1603 whenIi Naokatsu , son of the formerdaimyo Ii Naomasa , ordered its construction. The keep was originally built in1575 , as part ofŌtsu Castle , and was moved to Hikone by theIi clan . Other parts of the castle were moved fromNagahama Castle . [ [http://www.jcastle.info/castle/profile/55-Nagahama-Castle Nagahama Castle ] ] Hikone Castle was completed in1622 . Naokatsu's lands had been taken from him in the interval by theTokugawa shogunate , and when his brother Naotake assumed control of the area aroundŌmi Province , he was able to complete the castle by collecting stones from the formerSawayama Castle .When the
Meiji era began in1868 , many castles were scheduled to be dismantled, and only a request from the emperor himself, touring the area, kept Hikone Castle intact. Today it remains one of the oldest original-construction castles in Japan. Hikone Castle was designated a National Treasure by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in1952 . [http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/shiga/hikonejou.html]References
Literature
*cite book | title=Castles in Japan| last=Schmorleitz| first=Morton S.| date=1974| pages= pg. 125-126| publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Co.| location=Tokyo| id=ISBN 0-8084-1102-4
*cite book | title=Japanese Castles| last=Motoo| first=Hinago| date=1986| pages= 200 pages| publisher=Kodansha| location=Tokyo| id=ISBN 0-87011-766-1
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.