ABSTRACT
Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s castles in Kyoto, Osaka and Fushimi surpassed Azuchi, and set the model for the two hundred and sixty new foundations of the Tokugawa Period. Mori Terumoto’s visit to Hideyoshi’s Jurakudai in Kyoto on August 7, 1588 was guided by Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hidenaga and was followed by a guided tour of Osaka Castle by Hideyoshi himself on September 11. The Mori, as the most powerful lords of Western Honshu, were familiar with the details of the planning and construction of Osaka Castle. The location of the castle was an immediate priority, with a number of conflicting criteria coming to bear on its position in the delta. Construction of the castle and the residential areas began with infill of submerged areas and the removal of bamboo forest. The clearing of the site and initial riparian works had been aligned with the prominent summit of Tokojiyama and the principal access road to the main entrance of the castle.
