Nagoya Castle: Shachihoko
Protect Beautiful
Nagoya Attractions

When the Japanese cherry blossom trees are in bloom around Nagoya Castle during spring, you can almost forget that it is a reconstruction and imagine what it must have been like almost 400 years ago.

Nagoya-jo was originally constructed in Nagoya, Japan in 1612 but sustained great damage in World War II.

In 1959 it was rebuilt from ferro-concrete and its interior now contains a museum about the castle.

However, an interesting feature of Nagano Castle is a pair of male and female gold figures, in the form of a mythical fish with the head of a tiger, which adorn the north and south ends of the roof. These gold ("kin" in Japanese) figures are called Shachihoko and give the castle its nickname of Kinshachi-jo.

Like the umbrella in Chion-in Temple in Kyoto, Shachihoko are believed to protect the castle from fire by bringing the rain.

Other highlights of the castle include:

• Ninomaru Tea House
• Ninomaru Garden
• 600 year old Japanese Nutmeg tree

Opening Hours:

9:00am - 4:30pm (last entry 4:00pm)

Closed:

December 29th - January 1st

Entry:

¥500 Adults