Originally built as a mountaintop castle in 1499 by Akamatsu Murahide, Tatsuno-jō fell into the hands of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1577 during his conquest of the Chūgoku region. A new castle was constructed in the plains below Mt. Keiro in 1672 and the Wakizaka Clan went on to control it until the Meiji Era. As a subordinate castle to Himeji in Harima Province, Tatsuno-jō and its surrounding town grew and thrived in the Edo Period, and a good deal of historical architecture has survived in the nearby streets of the old center. The current Hon-maru palace (not pictured) was carefully rebuilt using traditional techniques in 1979.