Azuchi Castle — Oda Nobunaga's castle, of which only stones remain
Oda Nobunaga built Azuchi Castle (安土城) between 1576 and 1579 on the shore of Lake Biwa as a symbol of his power. Its multi-tiered tower was called not the usual 天守 but 天主 in documents — the same word "tenshu," but with a different kanji. The castle burned down in 1582 shortly after Nobunaga's death, and the arsonist was never identified. Today only stone foundations and staircases remain.
Azuchi stood for only six years, but it shaped the look of Japanese castles for the next two and a half centuries: stone bases across the entire hill, a multi-tiered tower, lavish interiors — all of this started here. Let's look at what the rare spelling 天主 means, which stones survived on Mount Azuchi, and how the castle is depicted in the game Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Azuchi Castle: Nobunaga's residence by Lake Biwa
Oda Nobunaga built Azuchi Castle (安土城) between 1576 and 1579 on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa as his main residence and a symbol of his power over central Japan. Niwa Nagahide oversaw the overall work. The tower rose about 32 meters, and its interior floors were decorated with paintings on a gold background. The castle stood for only six years: in 1582, shortly after Nobunaga's death at Honnō-ji, the fortress burned down, and the arsonist was never identified.
- One of the first castles where stone walls (ishigaki) covered the entire hill, not just the tower's base
- A straight stone-paved road about 180 meters long led from the foot of the hill to the tower
- The main paintings were done by Kanō Eitoku — the most famous artist of the era
- Today only foundations, stone staircases, and the tower's base remain
安土城: "peaceful land" and the tower 天主
安土城 is read あづちじょう (Azuchi-jō): 安 means "peace, tranquility," 土 means "earth," and 城 means "castle." The exact origin of the name Azuchi is unknown. According to one version, the place was already called that before Nobunaga; according to another, the name was chosen for its meaning of "peaceful land." One thing is certain: the characters mean "peace" and "earth," and together they are read in a special way — あづち.
安 — значение: peace, tranquility, safety — онъёми: アン — кунъёми: やす.い、やす.まる、やす、やす.らか — 6 штрих(ов). 安 — "peace, tranquility, safety": 6 strokes, the first character in the place name Azuchi, from which the castle takes its name.
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 安土城 | Azuchi-jō · Azuchi-jō | The castle's name |
| 天主 | tenshu · tenshu | This was the name for Azuchi's main tower — a rare spelling instead of the usual 天守 |
| 石垣 | ishigaki · ishigaki | Stone wall masonry — at Azuchi it covered the entire hill for the first time |
| 安土桃山時代 | Azuchi-Momoyama jidai · Azuchi-Momoyama jidai | The Azuchi-Momoyama period, named in part after this castle |
Why 天主, not 天守
天主 is a rare detail. Almost all castles call their main tower 天守 — "heavenly guard," also read "tenshu." In Azuchi, documents of the era write exactly 天主 — "heavenly lord." The same combination was used in China to translate the Christian "God," and Nobunaga favored the Jesuits. Some historians see in the spelling a claim to greatness, but this is only one of several theories.
Trace 安 along the guides and learn the stroke order.
Azuchi in games: a castle drawn from chronicles
Not a single above-ground structure remains of Azuchi Castle, so in films and games it is drawn from descriptions. In Assassin's Creed Shadows — a 2025 game set in 1579–1582 — Azuchi is one of the locations and Nobunaga's residence. Here the game does not contradict history: the castle was completed exactly in 1579.
What you can see at the site today
The ruins on Mount Azuchi were designated a Special Historic Site (特別史跡) in 1952 — the highest status for monuments of this kind. The stone road, staircases, and tower foundation are open to visitors. Nearby, at the Nobunaga no Yakata museum, the two upper tiers of the tower have been recreated at full scale — based on chronicles and drawings, not a copy of the original. For the castle's 450th anniversary in 2026, Shiga Prefecture is conducting a major survey of the ruins and discussing whether the tower itself can be restored.
FAQ
- What is Azuchi Castle?
- Azuchi Castle (安土城) was Oda Nobunaga's residence on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, built between 1576 and 1579. It stood for only six years: the fortress burned down in 1582 shortly after Nobunaga's death, and only stone foundations remain.
- What did the tower of Azuchi Castle look like?
- The tower's appearance is known from the Shinchō Kōki chronicle and Jesuit letters: about 32 meters tall, six floors above a stone base, plus a basement. The upper tiers shone with gold, and the halls were painted by Kanō Eitoku. According to descriptions, Nobunaga lived right in the tower — an exception for Japanese castles, as lords usually lived in a palace at its foot. No exact drawings survive, so all reconstructions are historians' versions.
- Why did Azuchi Castle burn down?
- The castle burned in 1582 in the days after Nobunaga's death at Honnō-ji. Nobunaga's son Nobukatsu, Akechi Mitsuhide's men, and looters were suspected, but the culprit was never identified. Only the stone foundations of the buildings survived the fire.
- How is "Azuchi Castle" written in Japanese?
- In Japanese — 安土城 (あづちじょう, Azuchi-jō): 安 "peace," 土 "earth," 城 "castle." The main tower was called not the usual 天守 but the rare 天主 in documents of the era — the same reading "tenshu," but with a different second kanji.
- What remains of Azuchi Castle today?
- On Mount Azuchi, the stone road to the summit, staircases, and the tower foundation survive — it has been a Special Historic Site since 1952. The tower itself has been recreated only as a museum model nearby, not on the original foundation.
- Why is the period called "Azuchi-Momoyama"?
- The era's name was formed from two residences of Japan's unifiers: Oda Nobunaga's Azuchi Castle and the castle on Momoyama hill — as Hideyoshi's former Fushimi Castle in Kyoto came to be called later, in the Edo period. Momoyama itself was planted with peach trees only after the castle had been dismantled.
Sources
Updated: 2026-09-13