Wakayama Castle stands on top of Mt. Torafusu located in Wakayama City, the hometown of the 8th generation Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune.” The castle was built in 1585 by the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It was first resided by Kuwayama Shigeharu, the top ranking retainer of Hideyoshi’s younger brother, Hidenaga, and then in 1600 by Asano Yukinaga, who performed a valiant service in the Battle of Sekigahara. Since 1619, when Tokugawa Yorinobu, the 10th son of Ieyasu, was transferred to this domain and became the founder of the Kii branch, one of the three main branches of the Tokugawa family (the domains of Mito, Owari, and Kishu), the castle had been the residence of the successive heads of this branch. You can command a panoramic view of Wakayama City from the top of the donjon. In one end of the castle area is the garden named “Momijikei Teien,” which is designated as a National Scenic Beaty. The Okaguchi-mon Gate is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property.