Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle (大坂城 or 大阪城, Ōsaka-jō^?) is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan.

Originally called Ozakajō^{[citation needed]}, it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.^[1]

The main tower of Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one kilometer square. It is built on two raised platforms of landfill supported by sheer walls of cut rock, using a technique called Burdock piling, each overlooking a moat. The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and built atop a tall stone foundation to protect its occupants from sword-bearing attackers.
The Castle grounds, which cover approximately 60,000 square meters (15 acres)^[2] contain thirteen structures which have been designated as Important Cultural Assets by the Japanese government,^[3] including:

• Ote-mon Gate
• Sakura-mon Gate
• Ichiban-yagura Turret
• Inui-yagura Turret
• Rokuban-yagura Turret
• Sengan Turret
• Tamon Turret
• Kinmeisui Well
• Kinzo Storehouse
• Enshogura Gunpowder Magazine
• Three sections of castle wall all located around Otemon Gate.

The castle is open to the public, and is easily accessible from Osakajōkōen Station on the JR West Osaka Loop Line. It is a popular spot during festival seasons, and especially during the cherry blossom bloom (hanami), when the sprawling castle grounds are covered with food vendors and taiko drummers. The large indoor arena Osaka-jo Hall is also located within the grounds of the castle park.
  
The Azuchi-Momoyama period (安土桃山時代 Azuchi-Momoyama jidai^?) came at the end of the Warring States Period in Japan, when the political unification that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate took place. It spans the years from approximately 1573 to 1603, during which time Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, imposed order upon the chaos that had pervaded since the collapse of the Ashikaga Shogunate. The name of this period is taken from Nobunaga's castle, Azuchi Castle, in the present-day town of Azuchi, Shiga Prefecture and Hideyoshi's castle, Momoyama Castle (also known as Fushimi Castle), in Kyoto.^[1]
Osaka-jō Hall (大阪城ホール Ōsaka-jō Hōru^?), is a multi-purpose arena, in the Kyōbashi area, of Osaka, Japan. It is used for some sports, such as judo championships and is popular for concerts, with many native and international pop and rock music artists. Each year, 10,000 people come to the hall to participate in a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.