Okayama Castle

Okayama Castle 岡山城
Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Donjon Tower
An aerial view of Okayama Castle
Type	Azuchi-Momoyama castle
Site information
Controlled by	Nawa clan (1346-unknown) Kanamitu clan (1521-1528) Ukita clan (1570-1600) Kobayakawa clan (1600-1602) Ikeda clan (1602-1869) Japan (1869-present)
Condition	Surviving turrets and stone walls, concrete replica keep (1966)
Site history
Built	1346-1369 (Nawa clan) rebuilt 1590-1597 (Ukita Hideie) replica donjon completed 1966
In use	1346-1889
Materials	Wood, stone, plaster, tile.
Demolished	Moats: Ministry of War (1873-82), Main tower: US air raid (Jun 29, 1945)
Battles/wars	Contributed to Sekigahara (total loss)

Okayama Castle (岡山城, Okayama-jō) is a Japanese castle in the city of Okayama in Okayama Prefecture in Japan. The main tower was completed in 1597,^[1] destroyed in 1945 and replicated in concrete in 1966. Two of the watch towers survived the bombing of 1945 and are now listed by the national Agency for Cultural Affairs as Important Cultural Properties.

In stark contrast to the white "Egret Castle" of neighboring Himeji, Okayama Castle has a black exterior, earning it the nickname Crow Castle (烏城, U-jō) or "castle of the black bird". (The black castle of Matsumoto in Nagano is also known as "Crow Castle", but it is karasu-jō in Japanese.)

Today, only a few parts of Okayama Castle's roof (including the fish-shaped-gargoyles) are gilded, but prior to the Battle of Sekigahara the main keep also featured gilded roof tiles, earning it the nickname Golden Crow Castle (金烏城, Kin U-jō).