Ultimate Guide to Osaka Castle: 09

Historical display in the Main tower of Osaka Castle

By Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

The samurai in blue costume is Matsudaira Tadanao, who fought for the Tokugawa Shogunate

When you enter the main tower, what welcomes you first is this painting of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan, who built the original Osaka Castle in the 16th century

Replica of 'Namban Byobu Screen'; the original is an important cultural property of Japan

When you enter the main tower of Osaka Castle, you can choose the elevator or stairs. In case of elevator you have to stand in a long line. As we didn't want to wait, we chose to take the stairs. And this is what we got...we had to climb up to the eighth floor!

Replicas of ornaments that decorated the castle walls

Samurai helmets you can try on. Don't worry, they are made of plastics and not heavy at all! One trial is 300 yen for adults, so why don't you try one?

One of the visitors is trying out the samurai costume. She looks very pleased and satisfied! FYI, this is Sanada Yukimura's samurai armor

The poster of the NHK period drama for the year 2016. The famous samurai who fought in the battle of Osaka in 1614 to 1615 against the Tokugawa army, Sanada Yukimura, is the main character of the coming NHK drama! 'Sanada-maru 真田丸' is the name of the fortress Sanada Yukimura built just outside the Osaka Castle to ward off the Tokugawa armies in the winter campaign

These are miniature figures created to resemble a folding screen illustrating the Summer War of Osaka in 1615. The troops of Sanada Yukimura (defending Osaka Castle) and Matsudaira Tadanao are fighting against each other

The horse-riding samurai in red costume is Sanada Yukimura, the legendary samurai from the Battle of Osaka

The folding screen illustrating the Summer War of Osaka in 1615

3D projection movie of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's life. It's divided into 19 stories and takes 20 minutes to see them all

The view from the top of the main tower. The round-shaped architecture on the upper left is the Osaka Castle Hall

Beautiful green Inner Moat can be seen from the top of the main tower

This photo story is to guide you step-by-step as you explore the Osaka Castle and the Osaka Castle Park. The ninth leg of the journey begins inside the main tower of Osaka Castle. Here, various kinds of historical artifacts are displayed, some are replicas and some are genuine. Visitors are encouraged to go straight up to the eighth floor, the top of the tower, by either elevator or by stairs, then go down from there. Elevators only go up, you can't ride them down except for special cases or emergencies. There are 3D movies to watch and samurai armor to try on...something that children can also enjoy. There was a foreign lady who was trying out the samurai armor of Sanada Yukimura, the legendary hero of Sengoku Period who fought for Toyotomi Clan in the battle of Osaka in 1614 and 1615 and acquired eternal fame for it, and I had hard time stopping myself trying it out myself, too! The main tower is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Last admission at 4:30 p.m.)