Sonobe Castle, Kyoto Prefecture

After leaving Mie Prefecture, I traveled to Kyoto Prefecture.

 

This castle was a little bit of a walk from the train station and turned out to be an odd castle.  You'll see from the photos.  

This is the information from J-Castle.

Sonobejō has the distinction of being the last ever castle built in Japan! It was built in 1868, the same year as the Meiji Restoration, and thus, the year the Edo Shogunate ended. In the Bakamatsu Period (end of the Edo Period), the situation in Kyōto become very dangerous, with Shinsengumi (Shogunal police corps) engaging in street fights with anti-Shogunate revolutionaries. There were several skirmishes around the Imperial palace in Kyōto between Satsuma and Chōshū, at that time rival clans fighting for the influence over the Imperial Court. Chōshū advocated for continuing the Shogunate albeit with more influence from the throne, whereas Satsuma wanted to overthrow the Bakufu completely, re-installing the Emperor as sole sovereign of Japan. These forces, and the forces of the Shogunate, and various other revolutionaries, all fought over the Imperial Capital, making it a very dangerous place to be. Sonobejō was built as a place of refuge for the Emperor should he ever have to flee Kyōto. It was founded by the Koide Clan who had served as the Emperor's guards throughout the Edo Period.

This is some kind of cultural hall that has been built on the grounds.  The glass at the bottom makes it very strange looking.

I've never seen a sign directing to the toilet like this.

Beneath the bridge is a swimming pool, not a moat.

This was the last castle of my eleven day New Year Holiday Castle Tour.  After this, I got back on the train and went home on January 9th.

If you are interested in Japanese Castles, you can find links to other castle visits I've made on my Japanese Castle page.