in Fushimi Castle Construction of the original Fushimi Castle begun in 1592, the year after
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's retirement from the
regency, and was completed in 1594. Twenty
provinces provided workers for the construction, which numbered between 20,000 and 30,000. Though bearing the external martial appearance of a castle, the structure was intended as a retirement palace for Hideyoshi, and was furnished and decorated as such. It is particularly famous for its
Golden Tea Room, in which both the walls and the implements were covered in
gold leaf. The castle was intended to be the site for Hideyoshi's peace talks with Chinese diplomats seeking an end to the
Seven-Year War in
Korea, but
an earthquake destroyed the castle entirely only two years after its completion. gate was moved to
Nishi Hongan-ji It was rebuilt soon afterwards, and came to be controlled by
Torii Mototada, a vassal of
Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1600, the castle fell in a
famous and significant siege by
Ishida Mitsunari. Torii, in a celebrated act of honor and bravery, defended the castle for eleven days, delaying Ishida's forces and allowing his lord Tokugawa time to build his own army. This had a profound effect on the
Battle of Sekigahara that came soon afterwards, and which marked the final victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu over all his rivals. In 1623, the castle was dismantled, and many of its rooms and buildings were incorporated into castles and temples across Japan. Several temples in
Kyoto, such as
Yōgen-in (
養源院),
Genkō-an (
源光庵), and
Hōsen-in (
宝泉院), have a blood-stained ceiling that had been the floor of a corridor at Fushimi Castle where survivors of Torii's garrison had committed
seppuku after the castle's defenses were breached. In 1912, the tomb of
Emperor Meiji was built on the original site of the castle. The castle was not rebuilt until 1964, when a replica was created very nearby and primarily in concrete. The new structure served as a museum of the life and campaigns of Hideyoshi, and as the main attraction of a small theme park called "Castle Land", but was closed to the public in 2003. The castle grounds, however, were reopened in 2007. == See also ==