At the entrance, I had to take off the shoes. After climbing steep wooden stairs, I saw a statue of Yamauchi Kazutoyo, the lord of Kakegawa Castle at the end of 16th century, who rebuilt the castle damaged by provincial wars and developed the castle town.
There were exhibits such as saddles, war fan, and armor.
On the top of the donjon, there were many people looking down the town of Kakegawa and surroundings. To my surprise, I could recognize Act Tower in Hamamatsu with a height of 212.77m. But the most interesting thing was Ninomaru Goten on the east of the donjon. It is one of four existing castle palaces in Japan. The building was rebuilt from 1855 to 1861 after a big earthquake and has become a nationally important culture property. It was used as the residence of the lord, as well as a government office and a place for ceremonies.
After leaving the donjon, I went to Ninomaru Goten.
As it was an old building, it was more interesting to see inside compared with the donjon. There was a big drum used to announce the time.
This scroll seemed to be very old, and I couldn’t read the character on it. I heard later that it was “θ (tora or tiger).”
From the palace, you can have a good view of the donjon.
In fact, I’m not very interested in the history of the age of provincial wars as wars are always bloody. However, the design of this helmet was eye-catching.
Princesses in the palace might have played with these balls.
There were also kites from Shizuoka Prefecture and other regions in Japan displayed in a room.
As a whole, this building was well-preserved and worth to see.
After that, I made a short visit to Ninomaru Art Museum and went to Kakegawa Stained Glass Museum.
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