Nagoya Castle

Nagoya Castle was built in 1610 by the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was a beautiful day again in Nagoya so I decided to visit. The castle was severely damaged during the 2nd World War, but has since been restored. I got a few nice pictures, again taken with my SH903i cell phone camera. Here are several shots of the castle itself.

Here is an interior room in traditional style of the time.

And you wouldn't want to run afoul of anyone who knows how to use a sword like this!

Here a few views from the top (7th) floor.

This is a replica of the golden dolphin. Two of them sit at the top of the castle (themselves now replicas of the original).

Walking back to the station, I ran into this shrine, Hijie-agata Jinja. It was originally founded in 895 A.D. and recognizes the Ojin Emperor, the Jingu Empress, and 3 goddesses

Like I said, it was a nice day!

And back at the station. . .I wonder if these buildings will be around in 400 years time!

And since all this has me in a good mood, here is a nice AP article about plans to renovate the Fairhaven, Mass. home of John Manjiro (originally Manjiro Nakahama) when he lived in the US in the mid-19th century. It is an interesting story of a Japanese man who was shipwrecked and rescued by a US whaling vessel. He was taken in by the captain, William Whitfield, learned English, mathematics, and navigation. When he returned to Japan in 1851, he became one of the first interpreters between the US and Japan at the time of the Black Ships under Commodore Perry. John Manjiro is recognized today as a symbol of friendship between the US and Japan. It is nice to see a Japanese group, lead by Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, chairman of St. Luke's International Hospital, taking the lead in this.