Otemon Gate (reconstructed in 1955) of Ako Castle (circa 17th c.).

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Otemon Gate (reconstructed in 1955) of Ako Castle (circa 17th c.). Ukita Hideie built a branch or subordinate castle of Okayama Castle here in 1573. When Asano Naganao came in 1648 he was instructed by the Tokugawa government to build a new castle. If you look at a map of the castle you'll see that the outline looks very unique. It employs a lot of corners and these arrowhead point looking structures. This was a very modern idea to improve firing range near the castle and increase its defensive ability. You also see such structures very clearly in Goryokaku at Hakodate. There is a main keep foundation at Ako Castle but the main keep wasn't built because the Tokugawa government never granted permission to do so. Ako Castle was dismantled in 1873 under the Castle Abolishment Law.

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Size: 3139px × 2000px
Location: Ako, Japan
Photo credit: © Ivan Marchuk / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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