Maruoka Castle is the oldest castle in Japan, which was built in 1576. The main watch tower, Tenshu, remains. Once appointed a national treaure, it was revised and appointed an important cultural property in 1950.
The stones are piled up in the old style, called Nozurazumi. There are lots of openings between piled stones. They look like crude stone walls, but actually well drained, so no worry about collapsing when a heavy rain.
The first floor of the Tenshu, which is two layer-three story- building. A special architectural technique is adopted.
Holes for shooting are installed in many places. These holes were to shoot guns or throw stones against approaching enemies.
The second floor.
The steep stairs are one of the characteristic of this castle.
The roofs are covered with about 6,000 stone tiles, which weight about 120 tons. The stones are called Shakutani-seki , and produced in Atagoyama of Fukui city.