Takashima Castle

Takashima Castle was once known as “Suwa no Ukijo,” an impregnable castle.
This water castle juts out into Lake Suwa and is one of the three largest lake castles in Japan, as it was also known as a floating castle.

It was built on the shore of Lake Suwa between 1592 and 1598.
It was built between 1592 and 1598 on the shore of Lake Suwa, with eight turrets, six gates, and a three-story castle tower all built of stone walls, giving it the appearance of a castle fortress in the early modern period.

Since the ground was soft, the most advanced technology of the time was used, such as building rafts of timber and piling stones on top of them.
The castle tower was a freestanding watchtower with three stories and five floors, with huagashira windows in various places, and a shingled roof made of thin cypress shingles instead of tiles.

In the early Edo period (1603-1867), the Suwa Lake was reclaimed and the castle lost its water castle appearance.
In 1871, Takashima Prefecture was established and the castle was used as the prefectural government building. In 1875, most of the buildings, including the castle tower, were torn down or moved, leaving only the stonewalls and moat for a time.

In 1970, the castle tower, turrets, gates, and walls were restored in the main circle, and the area was redeveloped as Takashima Park.
The current restored castle tower has different details such as the size and position of the windows, copper shingles on the roof, and the interior is used as a museum. It is a reinforced concrete structure.