Sunomata Castle

Also known as the Sunomata Ichiya jo, or the Sunomata's One day Castle is a castle that was built overnight or so legend says. 

This castle has historical significance in Japan as it lead Hideyoshi Toyotomi's rise to power, who later became one of the military unifier of japan.  The castle was a clever tactical ploy by Hideyoshi who prefabricated parts of the fortress and had them erected over night to confuse and demoralize the enemy.  The tactic worked and the battle was won on that day.

The castle itself was nothing grand in structure originally.   The original structure was nothing more than a wooden walled fortress with  a lookout tower and basic living quarters.  Now the castle has been reconstructed and looks better than it did originally it serves now as a local history museum which includes the story of the castle as well as Samurai weapons and armor discovered in the castle during its renovation.   Note though that since the castle is visited mostly by Japanese tourist there are little English explanations.  Of course this doesn't stop those that can't read Japanese from enjoying the architecture and the surroundings of this beautiful castle.