Azuchi Castle

Ruins of Japan's first modern castle, built by Oda Nobunaga overlooking Lake Biwa in 1576.

Azuchi Castle was one of the most significant fortresses in Japanese history, considered the first modern castle in the country. Built from 1576 by Oda Nobunaga, the powerful warlord of the Sengoku period, it stood on a hilltop overlooking Lake Biwa in present-day Shiga Prefecture. Its seven-storey main tower was extraordinary for its time, adorned with gilded decorations symbolising Nobunaga's ambitions to unify Japan. After his assassination in 1582, the castle fell into disuse, and burned down shortly after. Today only stone foundations and walls remain, offering a haunting glimpse of what was once Japan's most spectacular stronghold.