After a construction period of twenty years, Hikone Castle (???, Hikonej?) was completed in 1622. The hilltop castle served as the seat of the Ii daimyo (feudal lords) until the end of the feudal age in 1868.
Hikone Castle is an original castle, i.e. it survived the post feudal era without undergoing destruction and reconstruction. Besides the castle’s main keep, most of the inner moats, walls, guard houses and gates also remain intact. Furthermore, parts of the castle’s palace buildings have been reconstructed, giving visitors a good impression of a relatively complete Japanese feudal castle.
