Hikone Castle and Hikonyan

Hikone Castle (彦根城 Hikone-jō^?) is an Edo period castle in the city of Hikone, in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

It is considered the most significant historical building in Shiga.

Hikone is one of only 12 Japanese castles with the original keep, and one of only four castles listed as a national treasure.

Hikone Castle traces its origin to 1603 when Ii Naokatsu, son of the former daimyo Ii Naomasa, ordered its construction. The keep was originally built in 1575, as part of Ōtsu Castle, and was moved to Hikone by the Ii clan. Other parts of the castle were moved from Nagahama Castle.^[1]

Hikone Castle was completed in 1622.

When the Meiji era began in 1868, many castles were scheduled to be dismantled, and only a request from the emperor himself, touring the area, kept Hikone Castle intact. Today it remains one of the oldest original-construction castles in Japan.

Hikonyan, the samurai cat, is the castle's mascot and is one of the famous local mascot characters in Japan.