The area of today’s Hikone City was inhabited ever since ancient times (Jomon Period, 8000 years ago) and it was famous because it was producing the rice for the Imperial House. The first castle built here was destroyed in 1600, during the Battle of Sekigahara, when the lord of Hikone was defeated.
As a reward for its services, Hikone was given to Ii Naomasa, one of the Tokugawa-shitennō, the four famous samurai generals who fought on behalf of Tokugawa Ieyasu. One of his… (View original article)