Fushimi Castle (伏見城)


Fushimi Castle, also known as Momoyama Castle(桃山城), was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1594 as a luxurious retirement palace. In 1596 an earthquake destroyed the building, but Toyotomi had it rebuilt, and plum trees were planted all around the castle. This is how the castle got the name Momoyama (“Peach Mountain”). 

After Toyotomi's death, it was given to a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Torii Mototada. Torii defended the castle from Ishida Mitsunari, Tokugawa's enemy in the Battle of Sekigahara, giving Tokugawa time to flee and amass his forces. After defending the castle for eleven days, Torii commited seppuku with the castle burning around him. His actions changed Japanese history, as the Tokugawa family would come to rule over Japan for 268 years.

The castle was later dismantled and its components incorporated into other buildings in Kyoto. One example of this is that the bloodstained floor where Torii Mototada committed seppuku became a ceiling panel at the Yogen-in Temple.

The original site of the castle is now the location of Emperor Meiji's tomb, and a replica was built in 1964, near the tomb, containing a museum of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s life. This building was closed in 2003, but tourists can still walk through the grounds and take photographs of the exteriors.

For Social Studies Teachers this site relates to the Grade 8 Social Studies Program of Studies Outcomes:


"8.1.5 analyze the effects of cultural isolation during the Edo period by exploring and reflecting
upon the following questions and issues:
• In what ways did Japan isolate itself from the rest of the world? 
• How did isolation during the Edo period lead to changes in Japan? 
• How did the changes resulting from isolation affect Japan economically, politically and
socially during the Edo period? 
• How did the shogun use the feudal system and the hierarchical social classes to maintain
control of Japan? 
8.1.6 analyze the effects that rapid adaptation had on traditionally isolated Japan during the
Meiji period by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and issues: 
• How did Japan adapt to changes brought on by the transition from feudal to modern models
of organization? 
• What challenges emerged for the Japanese in maintaining traditional cultural aspects of their
society while undergoing rapid change?"( From the Grade 8 Program of Studies) 


Websites: http://www.jcastle.info/castle/profile/25-Fushimi-Castle, http://asianhistory.about.com/od/japan/ig/Japanese-Castles/Fushimi-Castle.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fushimi_Castle, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii_Mototada



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