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Shiga · City

Hikone

彦根市ひこねしHikone-shi

The Ii clan's castle above Lake Biwa

Hikone is a castle town on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa whose keep, completed in the early 17th century for the Ii clan, is one of only five castle towers in Japan designated National Treasures.

Overview

Hikone grew around the castle that the Ii family, among the most trusted vassals of the Tokugawa, built on Hikone-yama from 1604 onwards. The Ii guarded the approaches to Kyoto for the shogunate for more than two and a half centuries, and the castle survived the Meiji-era demolitions reportedly at the intervention of the emperor. Its compact, richly gabled three-storey keep is one of the twelve original keeps in Japan and one of five National Treasure castles, alongside Himeji, Matsumoto, Inuyama and Matsue.

The town keeps much of its Edo-period layout: moats, the Yume Kyōbashi Castle Road rebuilt in merchant-house style, the temple row of Ryōtan-ji and the old quarter of Ashigaru houses for foot soldiers. Hikone is also a university town and the home of Hikonyan, a samurai-helmeted cat mascot that helped start Japan's regional mascot boom.

Landmarks

  • Hikone Castle

    彦根城Hikone-jō

    Original keep of 1606–1607 with elaborate combinations of gables, plus the Tenbin turret and moat walls; a National Treasure.

  • Genkyū-en

    玄宮園Genkyū-en

    Stroll garden below the castle, modelled on a Chinese imperial garden, with a pond and teahouse view of the keep.

  • Hikone Castle Museum

    彦根城博物館Hikone-jō Hakubutsukan

    Reconstructed domain office with Ii family armour, Noh costumes and a Noh stage.

  • Ryōtan-ji

    龍潭寺Ryōtan-ji

    Ii family temple with dry-landscape and pond gardens, below Sawayama.

  • Sawayama Castle ruins

    佐和山城跡Sawayama-jō ato

    Hilltop site of Ishida Mitsunari's castle, dismantled to build Hikone Castle.

  • Taga Taisha

    多賀大社Taga Taisha

    Major shrine to the creator deities Izanagi and Izanami in the neighbouring town of Taga.

Districts

  • Yume Kyōbashi Castle Road

    夢京橋キャッスルロードYume Kyōbashi Kyassuru Rōdo

    Street south of the castle rebuilt with white-walled, black-lattice townhouses.

  • Yonbanchō Square

    四番町スクエアYonbanchō Sukuea

    Taishō-style shopping and dining lanes adjoining Castle Road.

  • Ashigaru quarter

    足軽屋敷ashigaru yashiki

    Remaining houses of the foot-soldier class in the Ashigaru-gumi area.

  • Nanamagari

    七曲がりNanamagari

    Winding old road lined with the workshops of Hikone's Buddhist altar makers.

History

After Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu gave the domain to Ii Naomasa, one of his four great generals. His son began the castle using materials from Sawayama, Ōtsu and other older fortresses, completing it in 1622. The Ii were the only daimyo family from which the shogunate's highest office, tairō, was repeatedly filled; the best known is Ii Naosuke, who signed the Harris Treaty of 1858 and was assassinated outside Edo Castle in 1860.

  1. 1600

    Ii Naomasa receives Sawayama after the Battle of Sekigahara.

  2. 1604

    Construction of Hikone Castle begins.

  3. 1622

    The castle and town are completed.

  4. 1677

    The Genkyū-en garden and Rakuraku-en residence are laid out.

  5. 1858

    Tairō Ii Naosuke signs the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States.

  6. 1860

    Ii Naosuke is assassinated at the Sakuradamon Gate in Edo.

  7. 1937

    Hikone becomes a city.

  8. 1952

    The castle keep is designated a National Treasure.

Culture

Hikone preserves the culture of a major daimyo house: the Ii collection of armour and Noh costumes, the Noh stage from the domain office, and a long tradition of lacquer and gilding that survives in Hikone butsudan. The "red armour" (akazonae) of the Ii troops is a local symbol, re-enacted in the castle festival parade.

Festivals

  • Hikone Castle Festival

    彦根城まつりHikone-jō Matsuri

    Autumn parade through the castle town, with participants in red Ii-clan armour.

  • Cherry blossoms at the moat

    彦根城桜まつりHikone-jō Sakura Matsuri

    Around a thousand cherry trees bloom around the castle moat in early April, with evening illuminations.

  • Taga Taisha Spring Festival

    多賀祭Taga Matsuri

    April procession of mounted riders and portable shrines at the neighbouring shrine.

Food

  • Ōmi beef

    近江牛Ōmi-ushi

    The Ii lords sent miso-pickled beef to the shogun as a "tonic" – an unusual practice in Buddhist-era Japan.

  • Nishin soba

    にしんそばnishin soba

    Noodles with sweet-simmered herring, common in the Kotō area.

  • Ito-kiri mochi

    糸切餅itokiri-mochi

    Rice cakes with red and blue stripes, cut with thread, sold near Taga Taisha.

  • Lake fish

    湖魚kogyo

    Ayu, honmoroko and lake shrimp served as tsukudani or grilled.

Getting around

  • Hikone Station is on the JR Biwako Line, about 50 minutes from Kyoto by special rapid and one stop from Maibara, where the Tōkaidō Shinkansen stops.
  • The castle is about 15 minutes' walk from the station; the town centre is compact enough to explore on foot or by rental bicycle.
  • The Ohmi Railway runs from Hikone into the Kotō area, including Taga.
  • Sightseeing boats cross from the Hikone port to Chikubu-shima in some seasons.

Day trips

  • Nagahama

    Hideyoshi's first castle town, Kurokabe glass quarter and boats to Chikubu-shima.

  • Ōmi-Hachiman

    Canal-side merchant town and the Azuchi Castle ruins.

  • Otsu

    Prefectural capital, Enryaku-ji and Ishiyama-dera.

  • Mount Ibuki

    Shiga's highest peak, famous for summer wildflowers.

  • Lake Biwa

    Lakeshore cycling and the northern lake.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalOtsuŌtsu-shiTemples and lake shore at Kyoto's back door

Frequently asked questions

Is Hikone Castle original?

Yes. The keep dates from the early 17th century and is one of twelve surviving original keeps in Japan; it is designated a National Treasure together with the castles of Himeji, Matsumoto, Inuyama and Matsue.

How long does it take to visit Hikone?

Half a day covers the castle, Genkyū-en garden, the castle museum and Castle Road. Combined with Nagahama or Ōmi-Hachiman it makes a full day from Kyoto.

Who is Hikonyan?

The city's mascot, a white cat wearing the red Ii-clan helmet, inspired by a legend in which a cat beckoned an Ii lord to shelter at Gōtoku-ji in Edo just before lightning struck.

Is Hikone Castle a World Heritage site?

Hikone Castle was placed on Japan's World Heritage tentative list in 1992, and the city promotes it as a representative daimyo castle of the Edo period. UNESCO's World Heritage Centre lists its current status.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
  2. 2.彦根市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 彦根市
  3. 3.文化遺産オンライン (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁

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