I’m Edward Iftody, the Resident Historian of Osaka Castle Walks. I live one block from Osaka Castle on the Tanimachi Line, and I’ve spent more than a decade studying the ground beneath it — the fortresses that rose, fell, burned, and were buried long before the concrete keep visitors see today.
My work focuses on separating evidence from folklore, using archaeology, terrain, foreign diaries, and Japanese scholarship to reconstruct what really happened here. I lead small‑group walking tours that invite guests to investigate the site with me, not just listen to a script.
How I Fell Into This Work
I first visited Osaka Castle in 2000 as a tourist. Like everyone else, I walked the grounds without realizing the castle I was looking at was not the first fortress on this hill — and that the earlier strongholds were far more important to Japan’s story.
In November 2009, I moved to Osaka. In 2012, I moved to Tenmabashi, also one block from Osaka Castle. A friend casually mentioned that the current castle was not the first fortress on the site. That single comment sent me down a rabbit hole that has lasted more than ten years.
Because I live so close to the park, every time I found a new map, excavation report, or historical reference, I could walk straight to the grounds and check it against the physical reality:
- GPS & Elevation: Verifying data against the actual topography.
- Stonework & Wall Alignments: Looking closely at the physical masonry.
- Moat Lines & Buried Structures: Identifying hidden historical layers.
- Modern Paths vs. Older Routes: Comparing current walking routes to historical paths.
This constant back‑and‑forth between research and physical evidence is what shaped my understanding. The deeper I dug, the more contradictions I found. The more contradictions I found, the more I walked.
How I Research Osaka Castle
1. Japanese Scholarship
My primary sources include Japanese historians such as Daimon Watanabe, who specializes in sorting out fact from fiction in Osaka’s past. I rely on authors like him to challenge popular myths and to ground my work in serious scholarship. (Daimon Watanabe’s author page)
2. Topographical and GPS‑enabled Maps
Over the years, I’ve collected many topographical and GPS‑enabled maps of the Osaka Castle area. These maps help answer questions about:
- Why specific locations were chosen for fortresses.
- How the terrain has been reshaped over 1,500 years.
- Where buried walls and moats still lie beneath the surface.
- How the layouts of the Toyotomi and Tokugawa castles differ.
On Tour: I share these maps with guests. Seeing the terrain in person, with a map in hand, often changes how people think about strategy, power, and vulnerability.
3. Archaeology and Missing Maps
Unfortunately, there are no surviving maps of the site from before Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s castle. To fill those gaps, I rely on:
- Penetrating‑radar topography
- Core samples and excavation reports
- Findings from the Stone Wall Museum
Thanks to this work, the differences between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa castles are now fairly well understood. Archaeology gives us a way to read the ground when written records fall silent.
4. Foreign Accounts
Western references to Ishiyama Hongan‑ji and Toyotomi Osaka are rare but very revealing. These observers were writing from outside a system they did not fully understand. They had no incentive to flatter or condemn anyone; they simply recorded what they saw or heard.
Their accounts are often tantalizingly short on detail, but a single blunt sentence in a diary can overturn an entire assumption. These fragments, combined with Japanese sources and physical evidence, help complete the picture.
Why Walking the Archaeological Sites Matters
Maps can tell you distances. GPS can tell you coordinates. But walking the sites tells you the truth.
I can tell you that the four major fortresses on this ridge sit within roughly 800 meters of each other. But it’s not until guests walk that distance that the scale really hits them.
People are often shocked by:
- The sheer size of the construction.
- The closeness of the sites built over and over on the same ground.
- How many times this ridge has been fortified, destroyed, and rebuilt.
- How 1,500 years of ambition are layered into a single strip of land.
Walking the terrain gives you a sense of scale no book can provide. It is the difference between knowing and understanding.
How I Interpret the Site & Teach on Tour
Because I live one block from Osaka Castle, I walk the grounds constantly. This allows me to observe how shadows at different times of day reveal buried structures, how small changes in elevation expose old moats, and how seasonal changes alter sightlines and defensive logic. I treat the site like a document written in stone, soil, and silence.
I use a Socratic method on my tours. I don’t pretend to have all the answers. A lot of history has been lost in the fog of war and time. Instead, we read between the lines together. I make clear:
- What is widely agreed‑upon history vs. what is propaganda or fringe theory.
- What the physical evidence actually supports.
I encourage guests to give their opinions after hearing the evidence. This is not a scripted lecture; it is an investigation we conduct together, on the ground where it all happened.
Questions & Answers
What does “Resident Historian” mean?
It means I live beside Osaka Castle, study it daily, and interpret its evidence firsthand — not just from books, but from the ground itself. My work is rooted in both research and direct observation of the site.
Why does living one block from Osaka Castle matter?
Living one block away allows me to test every new map, diary, or excavation report against the physical site. I can walk to the park, stand where a source describes, and see whether the terrain, stonework, and sightlines match the story.
What sources inform your tours?
My tours draw on Japanese scholarship, topographical and GPS‑enabled maps, excavation data, penetrating‑radar topography, findings from the Stone Wall Museum, and rare foreign accounts written by observers who had no stake in local politics.
How is your approach different from other guides?
I focus on separating evidence from folklore. Rather than repeating textbook summaries, I show guests where the official narrative contradicts the physical site, and I use a Socratic method to explore what the ground, the documents, and the archaeology actually reveal.
What I Want Guests to Leave With
I want guests to leave with a new understanding of Osaka — not just as a commercial city or a food destination, but as a gateway to the world where so much of Japan’s story began.
I also want them to leave with a new understanding of Japan, shaped not by myths or modern narratives, but by the evidence beneath their feet. This ridge is where capitals rose, religions clashed, armies fought, families fell, and Japan’s identity was forged.
If guests walk away seeing Osaka — and Japan — differently, then the tour has done its job.
