Sengan-yagura Turret

The Sengan-yagura turret sits on a massive stone wall in the southwest corner of the Osaka Castle complex. It is a rare survivor from the early Edo period, built around sixteen twenty. While fires and wars leveled most of the original castle structures over the centuries, this watchtower held its ground. It served as a defensive strongpoint, with narrow slits in the thick white walls designed for archers and musketeers to target anyone trying to scale the high masonry foundations below.