Site of Tsukimi Yagura Turret

This spot within Osaka Castle's grounds marks where one of 11 turrets once stood in the innermost ring of the fortress, overlooking the 30-meter retaining wall and commanding sightlines to two of the castle's major gates. The turret burned in January 1868 as the Boshin War began and the last Tokugawa shogun fled Osaka, leaving the castle undefended. Looters moved through the grounds and fires broke out in multiple locations, the origin of each uncertain. Only the stone platform and the historical context remain, but standing here with that story in mind reframes the calm park around you.