Honmaru Goten at Nagoya Castle: A Rebuilt Masterpiece

2015-04-02 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Before diving into this post, I should link the official website with detailed explanations first. No matter how much I talk about it, I can't match the descriptions written by experts.

Nagoya Castle Honmaru Goten

Exterior of a wooden building featuring a curved roof.

As you head toward the Tenshukaku (the magnificent main keep we usually picture when thinking of Japanese castles is called the Honmaru, and the name of Nagoya Castle's Honmaru is Tenshukaku), which is visible even from a distance, you'll see a building under construction. At first, I thought, "Looks like it's still being built. It really smells like wood," but it turned out we could go inside.

Information board with precautions for viewing the Honmaru Goten (palace). — Photography and phone calls are supposedly prohibited, but it's a fascinating place where everyone does it anyway once inside, and no one stops them.

I'm not sure if it's because it's a new building or an important cultural property, but you have to take off your shoes and store them separately, and you must also leave your bags in a locker. You'll need 100 yen to use the locker, so make sure to bring some change. They manage things quite strictly, so don't even think about trying to bend the rules.

Guide standing in a bright room at the end of a dark corridor. — Chef Kim just marches right in without hesitation, like he owns the place.

Sunlight shining through a lattice-patterned paper door. — I don't know why, but I really loved these paper sliding doors.

Ornate wall decorations and sliding doors painted with tigers and bamboo on a gold background.

Tatami room with sliding doors painted with tigers, leopards, and bamboo on a gold background. — This is a recreation of what we'd call the master bedroom. They say the tiger murals were all safely removed and preserved before the bombings.

Information board with the structure and description of the Omote Shoin (main hall).

Spacious tatami room surrounded by gold sliding doors. — This is the Omote Shoin (front reception hall). You can't actually go inside the room, so it's hard to see the murals in the back. It feels like they just want you to get the general vibe.

Room surrounded by gold sliding doors painted with pheasants, waves, and flowering trees.

Ornate sliding door painting of white birds and flowering trees on a gold background.

Interior of a room featuring gold walls painted with pine trees and birds, along with ornate metal decorations. — You can see the actual valuables cabinet shown here in the museum.

When you enter Honmaru Goten, there's a strong scent of wood (they say it's Hinoki cypress). And rather than the actual structure of the building, you mostly end up looking at the wall paintings. The murals really catch your eye; they were apparently stored away before Honmaru Goten burned down, which saved them from damage. Of course, the originals are preserved in a museum, and the ones on display are newly painted replicas by modern restoration artists.

Multilingual information sign explaining the restoration materials of the Honmaru Goten. — It's a relief that the blueprints were preserved so they could recreate it like this. Records really are important.

Wooden donor plaques densely filling the hallway walls.

Wooden plaques inscribed with the names of people who donated to the restoration of the Nagoya Castle Honmaru Goten. — Many individuals and companies made donations, and every single name is hung up here. I don't know how much you have to give, but if you're someone who likes leaving your name on things, I think it's worth a shot.

Since it's a newly restored building, in a way, you can truly feel the excitement Tokugawa must have felt when he first moved into Nagoya Castle. Even so, the strange feeling of a Sengoku period cultural asset being brand new makes it feel less like a historical relic. The Honmaru Goten itself is one of Japan's premier architectural structures, and the wall paintings are all national treasure-level, but because it's still undergoing restoration, there's a limit to how deeply you can immerse yourself in it.

Although it's a newly restored cultural property, the attempt to recreate the original structure exactly as it was, and the fact that you can take off your shoes and feel the real wooden floors beneath your feet while viewing the interior of Honmaru Goten, is really nice. You could say it provides a space where you can feel a bit more of the Sengoku period atmosphere and travel back in time. Aside from the strong feeling that it was newly built, it's a place with a really great vibe.

#AreWallPaintingsJustLongMurals #TheGoldAroundTheTigersLookedCoolerInTheLight #GoodPlaceForAQuickLook #WouldBeNiceToLieDown