History/history

Ozu Castle is said to have originated in 1331 at the end of the Kamakura period, when Toyofusa Utsunomiya, the guardian of Iyo Province, built "Jizogatake Castle", and since then it has been a residence for 237 years. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's pacification of Shikoku, many daimyo became castle owners, including Kobayakawa Takakage, who ruled the land of Ozu in the early modern period, and during that time, modern castles were developed. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the turbulent world subsided, and castle-town began to form during the era of Todo Takatora and Wakisaka Yasuji, who are known as masters of castle construction. Later, Sadayasu Kato became the owner of the castle, and the reign of the Kato clan continued until the dedication of the print register.

Restoring Ozu Castle

In the Meiji era, most of the buildings in the castle were demolished, and in 1888, the castle tower was demolished due to deterioration. The current castle tower was restored in 2004 over a period of about 10 years, starting with residents' conservation activities and donations, and using techniques using traditional construction methods by experts. The four-story wooden castle tower restored after the war is the first in Japan, and its height of 19.15 m is the highest in Japan. In restoring the castle tower, it was accurately restored to its original appearance based on old photographs and abundant materials from the Meiji era. It is very rare that a large number of materials necessary for restoration have survived, and the restoration of the castle tower of Ozu Castle can be said to be the culmination of the thoughts of local residents and research on historical documents.

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