Okayama Castle Tower Renewal

Okayama Castle is one of Japan's 100 most famous castles, and was built by Ukita Hideie, a relative of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who served as one of the Five Elders at a young age. The three-story, six-storey castle tower, a rare scalene pentagon in Japan, is also affectionately known as the "Crow Castle" due to its black clapboard exterior.
Following the large-scale renovation in 1996 (for the 400th anniversary of the castle's construction), we were also ordered to renovate the castle tower displays for the "Great Reiwa Renovation." This renovation was based on the concept of "an easy-to-understand gateway to Okayama's history, even for beginners," and was aimed primarily at general tourists, with the aim of creating a base for historical tourism in Okayama City.
displays was supervised by Okayama-born historian Michifumi Isoda, who provides a clear introduction to the charms and characteristics of Okayama Castle, the achievements of its successive lords, and the origins of the city of Okayama, while also introducing new insights.

As the potential of castles as tourism resources is being re-evaluated nationwide, meeting tourism demand, including inbound tourism, is cited as a major challenge for this project.
Additionally, we received a request to create a historical displays that emphasizes the female perspective, as historical displays tend to be male-centric.

In response to tourism demand, we have created an original video centered around the well-known Battle of Sekigahara, depicting the exploits of three military commanders (Ukita Hideie, Kobayakawa Hideaki, and Ikeda Terumasa) who were deeply involved with Okayama Castle, in an effort to make it easier for tourists from Japan and abroad to feel a connection with Okayama and empathize with it.
In addition, a variety of photo spots have been prepared throughout the castle tower in order to attract new tourists through word of mouth and social media.
In addition, a video introducing the achievements of Ukita Naoie and Ikeda Mitsumasa, who made significant contributions to the development of the city of Okayama, features their respective wives as narrators and is structured in such a way that the wives brag about their husbands' achievements, thereby creating a historical displays that incorporates a female perspective.