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Nagoya Castle, also known as Kinjo, was commissioned by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate, and is the largest castle built in Japan during the early Edo period. It is renowned as one of Japan's three great castles, alongside Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture and Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto Prefecture. Atop its five-story main keep, a pair of magnificent golden shachihoko, a mythical creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp, symbolizes Nagoya. The male shachihoko on the north side stands about 2.6 meters tall, while the female shachihoko on the south side is approximately 2.5 meters tall, both adorned with scales made of 18K gold, shining brilliantly.
Another major attraction of Nagoya Castle is the Honmaru Palace, built in 1615 as the residence and political center of the feudal lord. It was destroyed by fire in 1945 along with the main keep, but restoration work began in 2009 and was completed in 2018. The interior is decorated with murals painted by the Kano school, a group of artists active from the Muromachi period to the Edo period. In 1634, the luxurious Jorakuden was added to the grounds, serving as a lodging for the shogun when traveling to Kyoto. Additionally, the Ninomaru Garden, located on the north side of the Ninomaru Palace, is a well-known cherry blossom viewing spot. The area that is now Nagoya was originally called Nagoyajō, where it is said that Oda Nobunaga spent his childhood.
