更新日：2021年1月1日

Secrets of the Hamamatsu Castle Main Keep

Secret 1: No records remain, but there stood the main keep

Historic documents and picture diagrams relating to the main keep of Hamamatsu Castle have yet to be found. However, it is highly likely that the main keep existed in the Azuchi Momoyama Period (1573 – 1603) because of the ridge-end roof tiles with the figure of a shachihoko (mythical animal with the head of a tiger and body of a carp) collected from the main keep foundation and the vicinity, and the underground well.

Secret 2: Hamamatsu Castle main keep, larger than it seems

The current restored main keep only uses approximately two thirds of the main keep foundation. The main keep of Hamamatsu Castle during the Azuchi Momoyama Period is thought to have been about 1.5 times as large as the restored main keep, considering the scale of the main keep foundation.

Secret 3: A well buried for nearly 400 years

The underground well was discovered in an archaeological excavation conducted prior to the construction of the restored main keep. Matsue Castle is also known for having an underground well built in preparation for siege defense. It is thought that this well was filled in during the early Edo Period because no picture diagram of the well can be seen in the main keep of Hamamatsu Castle.

Secret 4: When the original main keep disappeared

The main keep of Hamamatsu Castle is not depicted in picture diagrams from the Edo Period. Recent archaeological excavations have revealed that large tile-roofed buildings disappeared in the early stages of the Azuchi Momoyama Period and Edo Period, increasing the likelihood that the main keep was lost at that time. Therefore, the main keep of Hamamatsu Castle is thought to have disappeared shortly after its construction.

The modern day restored main keep

The main keep envisioned as it was in the Azuchi Momoyama Period