Hokoku Shrine

A tall bronze statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi stands before the shrine, his hand resting on the hilt of a sword as he looks toward the old castle grounds. This site honors the man who unified Japan in the late sixteenth century. Built originally in Kyoto, the shrine moved here in nineteen sixty-one to rest within the stone walls of the castle he once expanded. A single copper torii gate marks the entrance, standing stark against the lush trees surrounding the inner shrine buildings.