cleared of suspicion of complicity, Yorinobu cancelled plans for further expansion of the castle. Kishū Domain eventually did provide two shogun.Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) significantly reformed the domain's financial situation, and applied many of these reforms as eighth shogun from 1716. Tokugawa Iemochi (1846-1866) became shogun during the tumultuous Bakumatsu period, but ultimately failed to prevent the collapse of Tokugawa rule. In 1791 the US captains John Kendrick of the Lady Washington and William Douglas of the Grace visited Kushimoto, hoping to open a trading relationship with Japan. News was sent to Wakayama Castle, which sent troops. However, Kendrick and Douglas departed two days before the troops arrived. The result of this first visit of Americans to Japan was largely symbolic for the United States. For Japan it resulted in a new system of alarms and coastal patrols, increasing Japan's isolation under sakoku. In 1846, most of the castle was destroyed in a fire caused by lightning, but due to its special status, reconstruction of buildings including the tenshu was exceptionally permitted, and completed in 1850. However, only a couple of decades later, following the Meiji restoration, the Meiji government ordered the destruction of castles around the country. Many of the buildings of Wakayama Castle were pulled down and the daimyō palace was dismantled and moved to the grounds of Osaka Castle (where it was destroyed in 1947). In 1901, the Honmaru and Ninomaru areas were opened to the public as Wakayama Park, and in 1931 it was designated as a National Historic Site. The castle tower and all other buildings were destroyed by the bombing of Wakayama by the US military during World War II. and the current tenshu was rebuilt in 1958 out of concrete and is open to the public as a symbol of the city and museum. Two original gates remain, one of which, the Okaguchi Gate, was designed a National [Important Cultural Property in 1957. Gallery See also List of Historic Sites of Japan (Wakayama) List of Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan (Wakayama) Literature References External links English page at Wakayama City's official site Japanese page for some more information Sightseeing Guide at Wakayama City's official site Wakayama Castle - Japan Castle Guide Castles in Wakayama Prefecture Museums in Wakayama Prefecture History museums in Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan Historic Sites of Japan Places of Scenic Beauty Buildings and structures in Japan destroyed during