Exploring Japanese Landmarks in Nishiki-e and Photographs

Goryokaku

Goryokaku is a Western-style castle with a distinctive star shape built at the end of the Edo period in Hakodate, Hokkaido. It was temporarily occupied by the former shogunate forces during the final battle of the Boshin War (Hakodate War). Natural ice was mined in the outer moat from the Meiji period to the early Showa period and was widely known as "Hakodate ice" or "Goryokaku ice". It is the only nationally designated Special Historic Site in Hokkaido.