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Hamamatsu Castle (Hamamatsu-jo) was where the founding shogun of the Edo
period (1600-1867), Tokugawa Ieyasu, lived for 17 years before he became ruler
of Japan. As he lived in the castle during the time when he began a war for the
purpose of uniting the whole country, it was also named the Castle of
Advancement. Its predecessor was a castle built at the beginning of the 16th
century, and this was subsequently repaired and expanded to make Hamamatsu
Castle. The size of the castle was roughly 500 m north to south and about 450 m
east to west. The existing donjon was rebuilt in 1958. It is a three-tiered,
four-storied construction and the top floor is an observatory of about 50 m
high, from which visitors can have a commanding view of the Pacific Ocean.
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