Osaka Castle Nishinomaru Garden

Osaka Castle Nishinomaru Garden

The Osaka Castle Tower was recreated in 1931, investing approximately 1.5 million yen (equivalent to 75 billion yen today) votive offerings by citizens. With this tower as its center, there is the Osaka Castle Park, which has 13 important cultural properties, including the Otemon gate, the Sengan'yagura turret, and the Enshogura magazine, along with an ume (plum) orchard and the Nishinomaru Garden. The Nishinomaru Garden, where the residence of Kita-no-mandokoro (wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a Japanese ruler in the 16th century) was formerly located, was opened in 1965 as a lawn garden of approximately 64,000 m2 in total area. Surrounded by greenery, the garden commands a beautiful view of the castle tower and the stone wall of a moat. The garden is also famous for its 600 cherry trees (including someiyoshino) that bloom gloriously in spring. The night cherry blossom viewing event is held during blooming periods, attracting a large number of viewers. In the northeast corner of the garden is the tea ceremony house Hoshoan, which was presented in 1969 by Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic).