Saturday, June 16, 2012

JP-273193

Another card from Japan but this one is an official. It shows the Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture.


JP-273193, sent by Anna.
This Edo period castle traces its origin to 1603 when Ii Naokatsu, son of the former daimyo Ii Naomasa, ordered its construction. The keep was originally built in 1575, as part of Ōtsu Castle, and was moved to Hikone by the Ii clan. Other parts of the castle were moved from Nagahama Castle. Hikone Castle was completed in 1622.
Hikone is one of only 12 Japanese castles with its original keep, and one of only 4 castles listed as a national treasure. When the Meiji era began in 1868, 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. The main keep of Hikone Castle was designated a National Treasure by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in 1952. - in:
wikipedia

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