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*''Japanese:''淀城''(Yodo-jou)''
*''Japanese:''淀城''(Yodo-jou)''
Yodo castle was the chief castle of [[Yodo han]]. It was located at a vital strategic point in what is today [[Fushimi]] Ward, [[Kyoto]] City, where the [[Uji River|Uji]], [[Kizu River|Kizu]], and [[Katsura River]]s merge to become the [[Yodo River]]. A different castle by the same name, located some 500 meters to the north, is associated with [[Yodo-gimi]] (second wife of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]]).<ref>This other castle, known as "old Yodo castle" or ''ko-Yodo-jô'' 古淀城, was built by Hideyoshi when Yodo-gimi (Chacha) was pregnant with their son [[Toyotomi Tsurumatsu|Tsurumatsu]]. After Tsurumatsu died around the age of three, however, Hideyoshi had it torn down. Stone markers on the former site of that castle can be found today on the grounds of Kyoto Municipal Noso Elementary School 納所小学校 and the nearby temple [[Myoko-ji|Myôkô-ji]] 妙教寺. Kusaba Kayoko 草葉加代子, ''Kyôkaidô to Yodogawa shûun'' 京街道と淀川舟運. Osaka: Daikoro (2019), 48.</ref>
Yodo castle was the chief castle of [[Yodo han]]. It was located at a vital strategic point in what is today [[Fushimi]] Ward, [[Kyoto]] City, where the [[Uji River|Uji]], [[Kizu River|Kizu]], and [[Katsura River]]s merge to become the [[Yodo River]]. The associated [[castle-town]] of [[Yodo-juku]] was considered the 55th station of the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]] from [[Edo]], along the extension of the highway linking Kyoto and [[Osaka]].
A different castle by the same name, located some 500 meters to the north, is associated with [[Yodo-gimi]] (second wife of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]]).<ref>This other castle, known as "old Yodo castle" or ''ko-Yodo-jô'' 古淀城, was built by Hideyoshi when Yodo-gimi (Chacha) was pregnant with their son [[Toyotomi Tsurumatsu|Tsurumatsu]]. After Tsurumatsu died around the age of three, however, Hideyoshi had it torn down. Stone markers on the former site of that castle can be found today on the grounds of Kyoto Municipal Noso Elementary School 納所小学校 and the nearby temple [[Myoko-ji|Myôkô-ji]] 妙教寺. Kusaba Kayoko 草葉加代子, ''Kyôkaidô to Yodogawa shûun'' 京街道と淀川舟運. Osaka: Daikoro (2019), 48.</ref>
Shogun [[Tokugawa Hidetada]] ordered [[Matsudaira Sadatsuna]] to build a castle on the site in [[1619]] so as to maintain control over this vital location while the nearby [[Fushimi castle]] was demolished. Construction began in [[1623]] and was completed in [[1625]] using materials from the dismantled Fushimi castle. The ''[[tenshu]]'' from [[Nijo castle|Nijô castle]] was also relocated to Yodo at this time.<ref>Kusaba, 48.</ref> The following year, when Hidetada and his son [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]] traveled to Kyoto, they stayed overnight at Yodo castle.
Shogun [[Tokugawa Hidetada]] ordered [[Matsudaira Sadatsuna]] to build a castle on the site in [[1619]] so as to maintain control over this vital location while the nearby [[Fushimi castle]] was demolished. Construction began in [[1623]] and was completed in [[1625]] using materials from the dismantled Fushimi castle. The ''[[tenshu]]'' from [[Nijo castle|Nijô castle]] was also relocated to Yodo at this time.<ref>Kusaba, 48.</ref> The following year, when Hidetada and his son [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]] traveled to Kyoto, they stayed overnight at Yodo castle.
The [[Kizugawa]] river altered its course in [[1637]] allowing for an expansion of the [[castletown]] around Yodo. Where the river had previously run to the north of the castle, it now ran to the southwest; the left bank became the right bank. Some of the expanded land was then used to establish archery grounds, horseriding grounds, warriors' residences, and gardens.<ref>Plaques on-site.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/32693045868/sizes/k/]</ref>
The [[Kizugawa]] river altered its course in [[1637]] allowing for an expansion of the [[castletown]] around Yodo. Where the river had previously run to the north of the castle, it now ran to the southwest; the left bank became the right bank. Some of the expanded land was then used to establish archery grounds, horseriding grounds, warriors' residences, and gardens.<ref>Plaques on-site.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/32693045868/sizes/k/]</ref>
The castle was encircled by two or three layers of moats. A five-story square-shaped ''tenshu'' (main keep tower) stood on the site until [[1756]], when it was struck by lightning and burned down.
The castle was encircled by two or three layers of moats, and became a famous sight (''[[meisho]]'') along people's river journeys. The five-story square-shaped ''tenshu'' (main keep tower) removed to Yodo from Nijô castle stood on the site until [[1756]], when it was struck by lightning and burned down.
The lord of Yodo played a role in overseeing travel up and down the [[Yodo River]] which connected Fushimi and [[Osaka]]; a special set of piers or stone steps, known as ''tôjin gangi'' and located near the taxation office about 200 meters north of the castle, were set aside for the exclusive use of [[Korean embassies to Edo]], as they boarded or disembarked from riverboats they used to travel up and down the Yodogawa.<ref>Explanatory plaques at the former site of Yodo castle.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/45652539075/sizes/k/]</ref>
The lord of Yodo played a role in overseeing travel up and down the [[Yodo River]] which connected Fushimi and [[Osaka]]; a special set of piers or stone steps, known as ''tôjin gangi'' and located near the taxation office about 200 meters north of the castle, were set aside for the exclusive use of [[Korean embassies to Edo]], as they boarded or disembarked from riverboats they used to travel up and down the Yodogawa.<ref>Explanatory plaques at the former site of Yodo castle.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/45652539075/sizes/k/]</ref>