Commissioned and built by Oda Nobunaga in 1579 as a grandiose representation of his power, Azuchi Castle broke with the usual stark simplicity and military functionalism of prior feudal fortresses. Lavishly decorated with interior murals, lacquered floors and gold-foil ornamentation, its seven-story tenshu-kaku was not only one of the first central keeps to be built in a Japanese castle, but also one meant to serve as a royal palace and residence. Despite its grandeur and prominence, Azuchi-jō lasted only three years before being burnt to the ground by the forces of Akechi Mitsuhide shortly following Nobunaga's death. Its grounds are now preserved as parkland, with the vast scale of the ruins giving a strong impression of the long-lost structure. A ferro-concrete reproduction of the donjon now dominates the Ise-Sengoku Mura in Mie-ken, with a recent replica of the hexagonal upper two stories of the structure also now forming the centerpiece of the nearby Nobunaga-no-Yakata Museum in Azuchi's outskirts.