The sliced trunk bearing Ohtani's signature will be used in a restoration project of the city's iconic castle. “People of Nagoya will be excited,” Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura said on March 20.

Visiting the Hommaru Palace at Nagoya Castle is a study in traditional craftsmanship. In some rooms, vivid seasonal motifs are painted on gold leaf-coated sliding doors; intricately carved cranes ...