Kōchi-jō

When I think of a castle, I envision a stone building. In Japan, however, castles were often made of wood. For this reason, many are no longer standing, having succumbed to fire and other damage.

In fact, Kochi’s historic castle is the only one in Japan with its tower still standing.

Kochi Castle was in use from 1603 to 1871. It stands high on a hill, and we climbed plenty of stairs to get there.

Visitors must leave their shoes in little lockers before entering the castle. This meant I was barefoot, but I found the tatami mats quite pleasant and cushy.

As you can see, the castle interior is quite sparse. The wall panels were paper in many places, and secret rooms were tucked throughout for guards to hide.

I’ve included a photo of the family crest for the Yamanouchi family, which later was adopted by a guy named Mitsubishi as a hood ornament for his line of automobiles.

The higher we climbed, the steeper the stairs became. It nearly felt like climbing a ladder by the time we reached the sixth floor.

I loved the views up there, not only of the mountains and city, but also of the
“shachihoko.”

Shachihoko are traditional Japanese roof ornaments that look like fish and are based upon mythical Chinese creatures. The top floor offered a good close up view of the shachihoko figures adorning Kochi Castle,

Finally, I had to include a photo of some school children. Every time we pass a group, they call out, “Hello!” “Konnichiwa!” and/or “How are you?” The really brave ones will shout out their names. It’s pretty darn cute.Les mer