Katō Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori, and Maeda Toshimitsu were among the 20 feudal lords from the northern and western part of Japan who were assigned to assist in the project.

Overall renovation began on Honmaru Palace in May 1633 (Kan'ei 10) in preparation of the upcoming visit of Shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu on his way to the imperial capital at Kyoto.

They were removed from the main keep in April 1871 (Meiji 4), transported by steamship from Atsuta port to Tokyo, and were taken to numerous locations in Japan as a traveling exhibition.

In December 1879 (Meiji 12), the imperial war minister Yamagata Aritomo decided to have the castle preserved on the advice of Colonel Nakamura Shigeto.

On May 14, the main keep, small keep, golden shachi, Honmaru Palace, northeast turret, and other buildings were completely destroyed in air raids.

[5] Nagoya mayor Takashi Kawamura announced plans in 2009 to completely reconstruct in wood the main towers that were destroyed during the Pacific War, just as in the original structure.

[12] The city has plans to further restore Honmaru and Ninomaru structures where photographic evidence and architectural drawings exist such as various turrets, gates and defensive walls.

Located west of the Ofuke Garden was lord Tokugawa Naritomo's Shin Goten (新御殿 New Palace) in what is today Horibata-chō (堀端町).

Both shrines played an important role in the religious life of the castle, and rituals and festivals were held in honour of the spirits enshrined.

The northeast corner turret that burned down during the Pacific War had a similar structure except for the difference in the design of the projecting bay windows (出窓 "de-mado").

It sustained major damage in the 1891 Mino–Owari earthquake and the Hasuike Gate (蓮池門 Hasuikemon) dating from Genroku 17 (1704) was relocated here from the former Edo Castle in Tokyo in 1911 as a replacement.

Tokugawa Yoshinao, the first feudal lord of Owari, and thus the castle, is said to have decorated his dinner tray with torreya nuts from this tree before going into battle in Osaka, and later for New Year's celebrations.

A moat once served to protect this point and the Nishinomaru, but it was filled in when the area was turned into an imperial detached palace from 1893 to 1930 because it disrupted the flow of carriage traffic.

On the west and south sides, trap doors project below the lower-level roof, which were designed for dropping stones on attackers in defense of the castle.

The fan sloping technique was used to prevent swelling by curving the middle portion of the wall inward, thereby evenly balancing the stone weight against the pressure of sand and earth within.

In order to conceal the diminished luster, openings in the mesh in the protective bird screens built around the shachi were made smaller during the Kyōho period (1715–1735).

Later in Meiji 9 (1937), during an inspection by the Castle Imperial Grant Commemorative Committee, a thief climbed the scaffold and stole some of the golden fish scales.

On top of the hill the thickly growing trees offered the lord protection from enemies by providing a hiding place and a secret escape route.

[50] During the early Meiji era, when Nagoya Castle was under the control of the Imperial Japanese Army, barracks were set up in the eastern part.

[15] The remains of a north culvert (北暗渠), or drain, located outside the garden on the northern boundary,[56] depicted in Oshiro Oniwa Ezu, were found in the course of an excavation survey and faithfully restored.

Six chashitsu tea houses were located in the old Ninomaru garden, which were the Tashun-en (多春園), Yamashita Oseki (山下御席), Yohō-tei (余芳), Fūshin-tei (風信), Sōketsu-tei (霜傑亭) and the Sarumen Chaseki (猿面茶席).

[52] Tashun-en was located at the northwest corner[57] of the Ninomaru, the Yamashita Oseki in north at the foot of Mount Gongen,[58] Yohō-tei in the centre,[59] and Fūshin-tei towards the south next to the palace.

Today, cobblestones are placed to mark where tatami mats would have been, rubble and plaster where the hallway was, and gravel on the other surfaces for an easy understanding of the original structure.

[71][66] In the historic Oshiro Oniwa Ezu drawing of the old castle garden a pond in the south (南池) is depicted with a large boat-shaped stone on the northern shore and an island of rocks in the middle.

The original pond is believed to have been deep, surrounded by sturdily piled rocks, and exceptionally large in scale, much larger than depicted in the drawing.

[52] Formerly a marsh located on the northern edge of the Nagoya Plateau, the Ofukemaru (御深井丸) is said to have been reclaimed with pine and many other trees at the time of the castle's construction.

[75] Kinjō-en (金城苑[76] "Golden Castle Garden") is a shoin (書院) hall that was designed by Morikawa Kanichirō (森川勘一郎 , 1887－1980), a regional tea master and expert on ancient culture.

[78] North of the Ofukemaru across the moat was a large garden area with a lotus pond and smaller buildings called Ofuke-niwa (御深井庭) or Ofuke-oniwa (御深井御庭).

It was surrounded by moats, stone walls and had five gates from east to west the Shimizu-mon (清水門), Higashi-mon (東門) or Higashi Ōtemon (東大手門), Honmachi-mon (本町門), Misono-mon (御園門), and the Habashita-mon (巾下門).

[82][83] The northern part of the Sannomaru consisted of a number of shrines and temples to protect the castle, especially from east to west the Tennōsha (天王社), the Tōshō-gū (東照宮),[84][85][86] along the Taitokuin-den (台徳院殿), the Taiyūin-den (大獸院殿), and the Genyūin-den (厳有院殿).