The last thing I did with my family before I had to leave because of work, was to go with the Shinkansen to Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture. There is also the Odawara Castle.
This castle played a special role during the unification of the empire, as it had excellent defensive facilities and was besieged by a huge army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi for 6 months. At that time it was also the only castle that had a defensive structure around the city. The Hojo clan also cared for their own population. This construction method was then adopted in the following Edo period also on other castles. The castle was then destroyed during the Meiji restoration and later an imperial villa was built on the site, which was destroyed in the great Kanto earthquake. In 1938 the square was recognized as a national historical site. In 1960 the castle tower was rebuilt with reinforced concrete, at least in its outer appearance.
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