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First established by [[Ota Dokan|Ôta Dôkan]] in [[1457]], the castle was a secondary center of power within the Kantô, under [[Odawara castle]], through much of the [[Sengoku period]]. Following the [[Siege of Odawara|fall of Odawara]] in [[1590]], [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] established [[Edo]] as his new center.

First established by [[Ota Dokan|Ôta Dôkan]] in [[1457]], the castle was a secondary center of power within the Kantô, under [[Odawara castle]], through much of the [[Sengoku period]]. Following the [[Siege of Odawara|fall of Odawara]] in [[1590]], [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] established [[Edo]] as his new center.

The castle then became the center of shogunal residence & rule, from [[1603]] onwards. The grand ''tenshukaku'' (tower keep), the tallest ever built in Japan at 58 meters high, was begun in [[1607]] and completed in [[1638]], following a series of repairs to the castle as a whole in [[1622]]. It suffered severe damage from fire on a number of occasions, perhaps most grievously in the [[1657]] [[Great Meireki Fire]], when the ''tenshu'' (main keep) was destroyed; the ''tenshu'' was never rebuilt.

The castle then became the center of shogunal residence & rule, from [[1603]] onwards. The grand ''tenshukaku'' (tower keep), the tallest ever built in Japan at 58 meters high & five stories high from exterior view, was begun in [[1607]] and completed in [[1638]], following a series of repairs to the castle as a whole in [[1622]]. It suffered severe damage from fire on a number of occasions, perhaps most grievously in the [[1657]] [[Great Meireki Fire]], when the ''tenshu'' (main keep) was destroyed; the ''tenshu'' was never rebuilt.

The castle was guarded chiefly by the [[Koshôgumi]] (Inner Guard) and [[Shoinban]] (Bodyguards), who also defended the shogun himself when outside of the castle. Along with the [[Oban|Ôban]] (Great Guard) who guarded [[Nijo castle|Nijô]] and [[Osaka castle]]s, they constituted the three chief shogunate guard units. The commanders of these three units were selected from the highest-ranking ''[[hatamoto]]'', but wielded little political power.<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), xxx.</ref>

The castle was guarded chiefly by the [[Koshôgumi]] (Inner Guard) and [[Shoinban]] (Bodyguards), who also defended the shogun himself when outside of the castle. Along with the [[Oban|Ôban]] (Great Guard) who guarded [[Nijo castle|Nijô]] and [[Osaka castle]]s, they constituted the three chief shogunate guard units. The commanders of these three units were selected from the highest-ranking ''[[hatamoto]]'', but wielded little political power.<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), xxx.</ref>