# Zeze Castle > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Zeze_Castle > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Zeze_Castle.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeze_Castle > Source revision: 1060569408 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Zeze Castle** (膳所城, *Zeze-jō*), is a *hirashiro*-style [Japanese castle](/source/Japanese_castle) located in eastern part of the city of [Ōtsu](/source/%C5%8Ctsu), [Shiga Prefecture](/source/Shiga_Prefecture), [Japan](/source/Japan). ## Overview Zeze Castle is located on a peninsula jutting into [Lake Biwa](/source/Lake_Biwa). Almost immediately after the [Battle of Sekigahara](/source/Battle_of_Sekigahara), [Tokugawa Ieyasu](/source/Tokugawa_Ieyasu) order the destruction of Ōtsu Castle and the construction of a new castle at this location in order to control the [Tōkaidō](/source/T%C5%8Dkaid%C5%8D_(road)) highway connecting [Kyoto](/source/Kyoto) with [Edo](/source/Edo) and the provinces of eastern Japan. This was the most important highway in [Edo Period](/source/Edo_Period) Japan, and the location of Zeze Castle was even more strategically important as it was close to the Seta-no-Karahashi, an ancient bridge which marked the entrance to the capital. The layout of the castle was planned by [Todo Takatora](/source/Todo_Takatora), who already had a reputation for castle design. The construction work was assigned to the major western *[daimyō](/source/Daimy%C5%8D)*, with many materials from the demolished Ōtsu Castle used to speed construction. The *[tenshu](/source/Tenshu)*, located in the western corner of the [inner bailey](/source/Inner_bailey) was unusual in that it had a four-story design. The *San-no-maru* (Third Bailey) was on the shore, with the *Ni-no-maru* (Second Bailey) and *Honmaru* (Inner Baily) separated by stone walls and moats, each forming an island. On its completion, the castle was assigned to [Toda Kazuaki](/source/Toda_Kazuaki), who was appointed *daimyō* of the newly created [Zeze Domain](/source/Zeze_Domain) with a *[kokudaka](/source/Kokudaka)* of 30,000 *[koku](/source/Koku)*. His son, Toda Ujizane, was reassigned to [Amagasaki Domain](/source/Amagasaki_Domain) in [Settsu Province](/source/Settsu_Province) in 1617, and the castle came under the control of a number of *[fudai daimyō](/source/Fudai_daimy%C5%8D)* clans, most notably the [Honda clan](/source/Honda_clan), who ruled over 13 generations from 1651 to the [Meiji restoration](/source/Meiji_restoration). The castle was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1662, and due to its lakeside location suffered from land erosion which required constant upkeep. In 1870, after the [Meiji restoration](/source/Meiji_restoration), the structures of the castle were either destroyed or sold off. The site of the inner bailey has become the "Zeze Castle Ruins Park", with a few stone walls remaining a reconstructed gate. A number of the original castle gates have survived in various locations, including at the Zeze Shrine (Ōtemon Gate from the Honmaru),[1] Shinozu Shrine (North Ōtemon Gate),[2] and Muchisaki Hachiman-gu (South Ōtemon Gate).[3] Each of these three gates has been designated as a [National Important Cultural Property](/source/Important_Cultural_Property_(Japan)). Another gate, the Koraimon Gate, has been relocated to the Hosomi Memorial Foundation in [Izumiōtsu, Osaka](/source/Izumi%C5%8Dtsu,_Osaka). One of the two-story corner [*yagura*](/source/Yagura_(tower)) towers survives at Chausuyama Park in Ōtsu, where it has been converted into a building for use for assemblies, but it no longer retains its original form. The site of the *Ni-no-maru* Bailey of the castle is now a [water treatment plant](/source/Water_treatment_plant). The castle is a twenty-minute walk from [Zeze Station](/source/Zeze_Station) on the [JR West](/source/JR_West) [Biwako Line](/source/Biwako_Line). ## See also - [Zeze Domain](/source/Zeze_Domain) ## Literature - De Lange, William (2021). *An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles*. Groningen: Toyo Press. pp. 600 pages. ISBN 978-9492722300. - Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). [*Castles in Japan*](https://archive.org/details/castlesinjapan00schm/page/144). Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. pp. [144–145](https://archive.org/details/castlesinjapan00schm/page/144). ISBN 0-8048-1102-4. - Motoo, Hinago (1986). *Japanese Castles*. Tokyo: Kodansha. p. 200 pages. ISBN 0-87011-766-1. - Mitchelhill, Jennifer (2004). *Castles of the Samurai: Power and Beauty*. Tokyo: Kodansha. p. 112 pages. ISBN 4-7700-2954-3. - Turnbull, Stephen (2003). [*Japanese Castles 1540-1640*](https://archive.org/details/japanesecastles00turn). Osprey Publishing. p. [64](https://archive.org/details/japanesecastles00turn/page/n33) pages. ISBN 1-84176-429-9. ## References 1. ["膳所神社表門"](https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/1375) (in Japanese). *Cultural Heritage Online*. Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 25 May 2020. 1. ["篠津神社表門"](https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/1376) (in Japanese). *Cultural Heritage Online*. Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 25 May 2020. 1. ["鞭崎神社表門"](https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/1422) (in Japanese). *Cultural Heritage Online*. Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 25 May 2020. ## External links - [Shiga-Biwako Visitors Guide](https://www.biwako-visitors.jp/spot/detail/802/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Zeze Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeze_Castle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeze_Castle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.