Nagoya Castle
Last updated: August 26, 2026
The golden shachi glinting on Nagoya Castle's roof announce what this fortress was: the Owari Tokugawa seat completed in 1615 on Ieyasu's orders, its great keep the largest of any Japanese castle ever raised, its defenses ironclad — the first castle structures ever designated National Treasures. Destroyed in the war and now a National Special Historic Site, it answers with the faithfully rebuilt Honmaru Palace, where cypress, gold leaf and painted tigers restore the shogunal splendour room by room. Around it, moats, stone ramparts and corner turrets make the grounds one of Nagoya's great strolls.
Itinerary
- Stop at: Nagoya Castle
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Frequently Asked Questions
The pair of gilded, tiger-headed fish rearing from the keep's roof ridge — talismans meant to guard the castle from fire, and long since the emblem of Nagoya itself. The originals were lost with the keep in 1945; the recreated pair still carries a small fortune in gold.
Not at present — the postwar concrete keep has been closed while the city works toward rebuilding it faithfully in wood. The castle rewards the visit anyway: the Honmaru Palace interiors, the corner turrets, and the walk beneath the stone walls carry the experience.
The lord's residence and audience halls beside the keep, counted among the finest palace architecture of its era and lost in the 1945 air raids. It was rebuilt over a decade using the original methods — hinoki cypress, lacquer, and reproductions of its celebrated wall paintings — and reopened as the castle's showpiece.
Ride the Meijo subway line to Nagoya Castle Station — the stop is named for it — and the main gate is a few minutes' walk away. The Meguru sightseeing loop bus from Nagoya Station also stops at the castle.