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The period known as the Muromachi period (16-157) in Japan, led by the Ashikaga Shogunate, was one of great popular unrest. Powerful uprisings and battles were common in this era causing the warrior and fighting to become the focus of life and the determinate of ones survival, class, and position in society. Daimyos created armies and attempted to fight for land to gain more power. Armies grew larger and war technology advanced and the hunger for wealth and power increased.

In order to deal with new war technology the Japanese began to build castles. These castles are known to represent one of the best and noteworthy types of architecture in Japan. They had "moats filled with blue placid water lined by massive stone walls, and towering high above them all, lofty structures marked by white walls" (Orui, pg. ). Castles were home to daimyo's and warriors, acting as the center of power and defense of a particular region of the nation. The wealthier a daimyo was, the bigger his castle was, and thus there was a better chance of defeating the "enemy".

During the end of this period, a man by the name of Oda Nobunaga was a key factor to the unification of Japan. Oda Nobunaga was a fearless and audacious warrior "Ruthlessly taking over his neighbors he controlled the majority of his province" (www.Japan-Guide.com). His surprise attacks and defeats created many allies for him and paved the way to take the capital, Kyoto in 1565. After Oda Nobunaga charged the capital and took control of it, he became the most powerful man in Japan. His mission now became to unify the country during the period of unification known as the Momoyama Period (approx. 1568-1615). Certain Buddhist sects were not very favorable about Nobunaga's idea of unification, especially the Tendai and Ikko sects (Chang, pg ). After 10 years of fighting, in 1580 Oda finally defeated the Ikko sect and achieved the surrender of the fortress monastery of Hongan-ji at Osaka, "the most important political and military center of the Ikko" (Chang, pg ), which is an important concept to keep in mind about the construction of Osaka Castle..

After Oda Nobunaga's death in 158, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Nobunaga's faithful warriors took his role as the most important and powerful man in Japan. He continued Oda Nobunaga's plans of unification and became famous for "his pivotal role in the unification of Japan and his military exploits" (Chang, pg ). He ruled with diplomacy and manipulation. Hideyoshi implemented three major policies to unify the nation the disarmament of the peasantry, a land survey, and the creation of a distinction between the samurai and the lower half of the social class. In order to implement these issues, he called a council and was faced with disagreement, which later led to a battle. The battle of Shizugatakein 158, gained Hideyoshi even more power and legitimacy to rule the nation as a whole.

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Although the Momoyama Period was one of peace and reunification, military was still a very important and crucial part of the political system. The location of Osaka Castle proves the fact that military strategy proved important in Hideyoshi's plan to keep peace as a political strategy. Osaka Castle was built over the old fortress of the Ikko sect. As mentioned before, the monastery Hongan-ji was the military strong-hold of the Ikko sect. The location of the castle symbolizes the fact that Hideyoshi and Oda reigned superior to the Ikko sect and were able to demolish them and build their symbol of power over the fortress (Schmorleitz, pgs. 1-6). In addition, Osaka Bay provided a strategic military position which gave access to naval practices. This secure location of the castle promoted fear amongst the rest of the daimyos, thus deterring them from plans of attack against Hideyoshi's provinces (which was practically all of Japan). With this manner of rule, ironically peace seemed to be established through fear. By establishing peace, using the castles as a means, Hideyoshi was able to become powerful politically, because he was able to gain the people's confidence and loyalty, after decades of war.

Osaka Castle is a good determinate of the social life during the Momoyama period. During this time, under Hideyoshi's rule, a "freeze in class structure" was implemented (Duus, pg. 10). This freeze means that the people of Japan during this era were identified as a part of a particular social class, setting a definite class hierarchy. This was done by Hideyoshi to separate the samurai from the peasants and the nobility from the common. The means by which he did this was the disarmament of the peasantry, regulations on permanent class structure, and the division of the castle grounds, such as those of Osaka. Therefore, it becomes evident that the creation of the castle was a means of class distinction which set the social structure of the Momoyama period.

Osaka Castle was built to house Hideyoshi, high ranking samurai, and other important people. The typical castle town was set up to suggest the social class of the people. During this era, the farther one lived from the castle grounds the lower in class he/she was considered. The positioning of the samurai within the castle also proved that the design of the castle grounds was made to convey positions in the social class hierarchy "Generally the quarters of the lesser samurai were on the outer edges of town… closer to the castle lived the middle class samurai" (Schmorleitz, pg 7) Interestingly, being a clever ruler, Hideyoshi kept both his loyal vassals and his enemies near the castle (Berry, 14). By doing so, he was able to be cautious of his enemies and discourage them from retaliating, by keeping them surrounded by "pro-Hideyoshi" men.

Furthermore, Osaka Castle itself is representative of the economic structure during the Momoyama era. The gaudiness and elaborateness in which the castle was built proved the economic structure of the wealthy versus the poor. The economy was obviously in an upward trend for the wealthy, like Hideyoshi to be able to construct a building that was as grand in structure and detail as Osaka Castle.

Hideyoshi's castle at Osaka not only conveys and forecasts the economic trends of the Momoyama period, but also proves to be a great impact on the actual emergence of these trends. The building of Osaka Castle created what is known as a castle town. The castle became an "economic nucleus" (McClain, Osamu, pg 1), attracting peasants out of the fields and into the towns. In reality, Hideyoshi wanted to make Osaka a successful and important town. Therefore he began a campaign to attract merchants and artisans to the castle town, since they added to the economy. (McClain, Osamu, pg 6-6). He encouraged Buddhist temples to relocate to Osaka and even manipulated tax laws to attract merchants. The merchants, who moved to the castle town, played an important role in the economy. They created an interstate trade system and conveniently supplied samurai and other nobility with goods. This increased trading caused a boom in the economy, because goods were being transported and manufactured faster than before "A steady migration of merchants and artisans made Osaka into an exceptionally large city" (McClain, Osamu, pg. 15). As the quality of life rose due to the advancements in the economy, demand also rose. According to Wendell Cole the "erection of Hideyoshi's castle… [caused] Osaka to overshadow Kyoto as a trade center" (Cole, pg 8) and become a commercial gold mine.

Surprisingly, as can be seen in the following era, Hideyoshi's castle and the castle town reversed his idea of "class freeze." The samurai, being on fixed incomes do not gain from the positive rise in the economy. As the merchants, who are "supposed" to be at the bottom of the hierarchy are gain and prosper from the economy they disrupt the "heavenly" class structure. Thus, the castle has not only an immediate impact but also one that changes the entire future of the bakafu.

Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle is a fitting representative of the political, economical, and socially structure of the Momoyama Period. The architecture of the castle marks the era's flamboyance. The luxuriousness of the castle proves the era's obsession with material objects and the need for rulers to prove their legitimacy through the flaunting of wealth. Osaka's castle town created a massive and prosperous trading center, which is still one of the largest in Japan, accounting for the gain in the economy during that period.

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