Hard to believe it, but this time is my sixth time in Japan. And every time I've come, I've always ended up staying for at least some portion in Nagoya. My hometown away from hometown! And yet, as many times as I've come here, I've never been to Nagoya Castle. Never had any interest: it's a complete replica of the original that was lost in a fire in World War II, rebuilt in 1959. While I can appreciate it for its history, the fact that I know its not the real deal has always kept me from going.
Until now! I had to see what all the fuss was about. Also: learn some history about this iconic treasure!
In essence, the original castle, built in 1612, was lost to a fire due a USAF air raid in May, 1945. The castle itself sustained a lot of damage; fortunately, a lot of the artwork was saved. The castle was occupied and used by various samurai clans for years, and even used as a district headquarters and POW camp during the war. Hence making it a target!
But by far the most interesting fact I read was that as the castle burned to the ground, the flames changed colors from bright oranges to deep reds to shades of blue and green. Local folks believe this was due to the deep history of the castle, with the burning souls confined in the castle finally set free.
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