Osaka Castle's Octopus Stone is 5.5 m high × 11.7 m wide and officially listed at about 108 tons, though some secondary accounts estimate 120-plus tons. Five castle stones exceed 100 tons and 15 exceed 50 tons. The video argues that some blocks may have been reused from a fourth-century palace or Buddhist temple, but standard accounts place the stonework in Hideyoshi's late-16th-century castle and trace the Octopus Stone to Mount Oyama. The irregular blocks were fitted without mortar; haulage methods remain debated.
Osaka Castle's Octopus Stone weighs about 108 tons, among five stones over 100 tons
JapanArchitecture
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Key facts
- Japan's Government Online guide lists the Octopus Stone at 5.5 m high, 11.7 m wide and about 108 tons; some secondary accounts give a conflicting 120-plus-ton estimate.
- Five stones at Osaka Castle exceed 100 tons each, and 15 exceed 50 tons each.
- The Octopus Stone's reported thickness is 70–90 cm.
- The irregular wall blocks were fitted without mortar; the routes and logistics used to haul the largest stones remain debated.
- The video argues that the stones may have been reused from a fourth-century imperial palace or a Buddhist temple. Standard accounts instead connect the castle's stonework to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's late-16th-century construction and trace the Octopus Stone to Mount Oyama in Nara.
Sources
Ultimate Guide to Osaka Castle: 11en.japantravel.com
One of the stones used for the stone walls inside the gate is called 'Takoishi', literally, the octopus stone and it measures 59.43 ㎡ on the ...
The Stone Walls of Osaka Castle | October 2021gov-online.go.jp
the tako-ishi (octopus stone), the biggest single castle stone in Japan. It is 5.5 meters high, 11.7 meters wide and weighs about 108 tons.
Octopus stoneen.wikipedia.org
The octopus stone, is a large stone at Osaka Castle in Japan. It is one of the largest of several megaliths at the castle at 5.5×11.7 meters and over 120 ...
Osaka Castle: Megaliths in Japantheancientconnection.com
The megalith known as the Octopus Stone, called Taiko-ishi by the Japanese, is a large megalithic stone near the Sakura Gate, one of the entrances to the ...
Osaka Castle's Mysterious Giant Stonesmuza-chan.net
the "Octopus Stone", the largest stone in the Osaka Castle, measuring over 59 square meters in surface area, 108 tons in weight, with a ...
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