The site of Osaka castle also undergoes ongoing excavations and examination. The first major project involved examining every stone in every wall, and cataloging what daimyo was responsible for that section of construction (most of the stones have the daimyo’s seal chiseled into them). This involved draining the wet moats and took quite a few years. There was also the aforementioned project that examined in greater detail the large stones. In an excavation just inside the inner walls southeast of the tenshu, portions of the original Toyotomi walls were uncovered. These walls featured smaller stones than the Tokugawa walls and were stacked rather haphazardly. Finally, around 2003, some of the extended fortifications built around the gatehouses during the Winter Campaign of 1614 were excavated and restored. | The site of Osaka castle also undergoes ongoing excavations and examination. The first major project involved examining every stone in every wall, and cataloging what daimyo was responsible for that section of construction (most of the stones have the daimyo’s seal chiseled into them). This involved draining the wet moats and took quite a few years. There was also the aforementioned project that examined in greater detail the large stones. In an excavation just inside the inner walls southeast of the tenshu, portions of the original Toyotomi walls were uncovered. These walls featured smaller stones than the Tokugawa walls and were stacked rather haphazardly. Finally, around 2003, some of the extended fortifications built around the gatehouses during the Winter Campaign of 1614 were excavated and restored. |